The Rise of Ozone the Hedgehog: Defender of Peace
by Breeders
Summary: A new visitor arrives, is he an ally or a villain? Sonic and co. will find out soon! Eggman seems to be acting strange lately, what is he up to? Rated T for some language in later chapters. small SonAmy. Story discontinued due to lack of motivation. sorry
1. New evil, New Adventure

DISCLAIMER!! don't own anything except my OC.

This is my first fic, so please no fire-elements or flaming.

I know that the story may look like a bunch of paragraphs with little or no dialogue, but I assure you that there are some… I will put those dialogues in **BOLD** for your convenience.

It was a peaceful day in Westopolis, seemed like nothing could go wrong for a long time. Our hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, was busy running around town without any reason. Out of the corner of one of his eyes, he spotted Shadow the Hedgehog keeping up with the blue blur. Sonic took this as a challenge and sped off racing the darker anthro.

Meanwhile, in the middle of space near the lone planet of Pluto, a space pod was heading towards the Earth at an alarming speed. The strange thing is that it's traversing slightly off path, a little ways to the left. Even stranger is that the pilot of the pod KNEW about this and used Pluto's planetal gravitation to "slingshot" back into Earth's direction, but at a much, MUCH faster pace. Seems like the navigation systems of this strange ship knows a lot about space traveling and tricks to get around quickly.

Back on our beloved planet, Sonic and Shadow were just about to finish their little "race" when they suddenly spotted Eggman near the city limits. To their surprise, he didn't come with any robotic bodyguards, no tricks up his sleeve, or anything dangerous at all! Our two favorite hedgehogs decided to put their race on hold and investigate. "**What do you think Eggman is up to this time, Shadow**?" Sonic questioned his rival. Shadow responded, "**Not sure this time, but he doesn't look like he's got anything to throw at anyone… we should probably spy on him for a while.**" Our favorite hedgehogs did just that without another word.

Somewhere in Centropolis, Amy Rose was wandering around looking for something to give to Sonic that might make him take some time to spend with Amy. After looking for days on end, combing through every store she went to, she finally decided to call it quits after searching for a week. She sighed and left towards Westopolis, but as she reached the city limits of Centropolis, she noticed an antique store to the left of one of the buildings. Amy looked at it curiously, then thought out loud, "**How come I never noticed this store here before?**" She thought for a minute, then decided to just enter the store.

Inside the antique shop, was an array of nicknacks, gadgets, and even jewelry of things that Amy had never seen before. Some of the antiques she noticed were unusual, funny-looking, and even beautiful to look at. She then heard the store owner come in from the back door. The store owner was a man who looked like he was about seventy years old, gray beard and mustache on his face. He wore a red jacked with green cargo pants. He also wore glasses that looked like they had a black tint. "**Welcome to my store**" He greeted. "**You are the first customer I had in weeks! Take a look around my store and tell me if there's anything you find fascinating. I may not look it, but I've spent most of my life researching and studying all the things you see here in my shop.**" He said with pride. Amy felt a little weird when the store owner spoke with that kind of enthusiasm, but shrugged off that feeling. She asked, "**Do you have anything that might impress Sonic the Hedgehog? I've been trying to get him to spend some time with me**". The old store clerk thought for a moment, then spoke "**I don't have a lot that impresses others, but I just recently found some artifacts that don't look like they came from this world. I haven't finished studying this new doohickey, but I'm sure someone might know what it is or what it does. Follow me and I'll show you**". With that, he motioned for Amy to follow him through the back door he came in from.

One of the things that caught her attention the moment she passed through the door, was a huge gemstone that looked like a chaos emerald. It looked like one of the seven stones that Sonic had used in his adventures, but this one in the store was the size of the master emerald, but red in color. "**What's that?**" Amy inquired, pointing at the huge gemstone she took notice of. The old man replied, "**I don't know much about that gem, not even my friends know much, but I'm still studying it. The only thing I know about it so far, is that it looks like the master emerald that your friend, Knuckles, guards. Other than that, it's exactly the same, but different color**". Amy thought to herself, "I bet Knuckles would probably buy that in a heartbeat if he saw it".

Somewhere else in the city, Espio was quietly meditating outside his home that he used as the home base for the team he was a part of, TEAM CHAOTIX. He was outside for what seemed like hours when he decided to head back inside. Sitting at the desk was his "boss" listening to his headphones swinging his tail left and right in synch with the music he's listening to. The "boss" is a huge crocodile with a gold chain thing around his neck. He goes by the name of Vector, and is the muscle of the group. In another part of the room, a bee was playing around in a little atrium that he built during his spare time whenever there wasn't any work to do. His name was Charmy bee. They weren't doing anything except waiting for work

Back to the space pod, the mysterious pilot was passing Saturn in hopes to reach the Earth quickly. The space pod itself looked like Vegeta's space pod, but much bigger. The pilot of this mysterious space craft was a hedgehog. He opened his eyes after sleeping for a LONG time, and checked his navigation systems.

He spoke, "Computer, are there any planets nearby that can support me to inhabit?" The computer scanned the sector they were in, and came across the Earth as an inhabital planet. He smirked at the result, and then said, "**Perfect**".

A normal day in Mobius… maybe not with eggman approaching Westopolis seemingly unarmed and harmless, but what could he be hiding. Who is this mysterious pilot and why does he seem interested in landing on Earth? Stay tuned for the next chapter of: The Rise of Ozone, Defender of Peace! Already working on Chapter 2, but this chapter is the start of the story, so no real big events are happening yet.


	2. Uneasiness

Disclaimer: still don't own a thing except my OC.

Somewhere in Westopolis, our two favorite hedgehogs were trailing Eggman throughout the city limits, when suddenly he ran towards the forest. Sonic stared in bewilderment, and then said "**At least Eggman didn't go to Westopolis.**" He looked at Shadow and spoke, "**Now with that out of the way, let's get back to our race, Shadow**" The darker hedgehog simply nodded and they dashed towards the city.

They were racing around until they turned a corner and didn't notice Amy carrying a huge gift box, and a smaller box that looked like a Christmas present. The pink hedgehog heard the race between the two speedsters and jumped out of the way as they sped past her, nearly dropping the presents she was holding. Sonic and Shadow sped past her like she wasn't there, and continued their competition. The blue blur asked the darker hedgehog where the finish line will be, and he pointed at the tallest skyscraper in the city. Sonic grinned and remarked, "**You sure know some strange places to end our races, huh.**" Shadow merely shrugged that comment off and motioned his rival to get going. They rounded the next corner and made a mad dash towards the tall building.

When the two reached the huge building, they jumped on the walls and sprinted upwards towards the top. It was a long way to the top, but as they reached the tip, they spotted gargoyle statues on the edge of the windows. Both competitors saw this as an option to get ahead of each other, but Sonic and Shadow had the same thought and climbed onto the heads of the statues and jumped with all their might.

The top of the huge building had a huge satellite dish, and that seemed to be the object that shadow was referring to as the finish line. Shadow spoke, "**Ok Sonic, seems we are evenly matched in speed, but how good are your reactions? On the count of 3, we jump at that satellite dish, first one to touch it wins this competition**" Sonic simply grinned as Shadow extended his arm and used some of his energy to create a countdown timer out of chaos energy, and it started at 0. Sonic took note of this and knew that shadow wasn't trying to get an early lead, and simply crouched down like he was going to pounce on something. Shadow did the same, and started the timer using his mind. Sure enough, the timer began the moment he mentally commanded. 1… 2… **3**. With that, both hedgehogs used all their might into their jump.

It comes as a surprise that both Shadow AND Sonic grabbed the satellite dish at the exact same time, so Shadow grunted and remarked, "**Seems it's a tie, Sonic. Next time we race, I will be the winner.**" With that, he used chaos control to teleport himself to the bottom of the skyscraper. Sonic, on the other hand, ran towards the door to the stairs and darted down to the entrance/exit of the building. With nothing else to do, he ran off looking for Amy to see if she's gotten into trouble.

Back with Amy, she stared off in the direction the racers were headed and sighed "**Must've been Sonic and Shadow again. I'd better go follow Sonic, he's going to like the present I got for him**" She darted off in the direction she last saw the hedgehogs race in. As she turned to the left, she spotted the blue blur walking around slowly as if enjoying the scenery. Amy saw this as an opportunity and ran after him. Unfortunately for her, he spotted her and ran off calling back to her "**I don't have time for you yet Amy, maybe later!**" She heard this and yelled back to him "**Wait, Sonic, I have something for you!**"

Sonic heard this, and surprisingly stopped. He turned to face the female with a curious face wondering what it could be that she got him. With that, he slowly walked towards Amy with regret in his mind for going towards the girl who kept chasing him for years. Taking a chance, he asked her "**What is it that you have for me?**" With that, she held out the small present she had and gave it to Sonic. To her surprise, he asked to open the gift together as a way to make up for those times he kept avoiding her. With great joy, she helped the blue blur open his present. When he saw what was inside, he gave Amy a big hug and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, thanking her for the present she gave him. Sonic then told Amy, "**Not bad, Amy. I'm actually impressed with this. How about I take you on that date you kept bugging me about for years as thanks?**" Amy, now glad that she can finally have the opportunity to go on a date with our hero, told him to meet her at her house tomorrow afternoon. With that, he sped off waving goodbye to her as he ran.

Somewhere outside the city limits, Tails was busy tinkering with some gadgets he made, like the Tornado for instance. He was pretty busy inventing some new things that he thinks might help him in many situations. While he was busy working out the problems with his newest 'toy', he didn't notice Sonic coming in. "**Still working on that new machine, Tails?**" he asked the young fox. Tails turned around and told him he was working on a special project that can really help him out, but is having a hard time trying to get the bugs sorted out on the new invention he's working on. The invention he was working on looked like one of the guns that the GUN robots use (the white machine gun from Shadow the Hedgehog game), but the barrel where the bullets are shot from has been shortened to about half the size.

Tails explained "**I'm trying to modify GUN's weapon that they put on their robots so that they can be more efficient, more powerful, and at the same time, using less resources**." Sonic was impressed at the concept, and suggested some ideas to help him improve the improvement he was working on. To his surprise, Tails told him that he already tried those ideas and continued working. Even more surprising to the young fox was what Sonic told him about Amy and the date he promised her. He told his young friend that he was bored, and decided to get that out of the way so Amy would stop bothering him about it for a while.

Back at the space pod with the mysterious hedgehog traveling through the galaxy, he just passed Jupiter when he decided to get some more sleep. He informed the computer to wake him up when they land on Earth.

At the Chaotix base, Espio was meditating like usual, but then he started to feel uneasy about what the future may hold, as if fearing an exceptionally difficult task. He told his boss about it, but he shrugged it off and told Espio to forget about it. Still feeling uneasy, he told Vector and Charmy that he was going into the woods to work on his skills.

Somewhere in the city, Shadow was on a rooftop planning a way to beat Sonic some way to prove his superiority over Sonic. Idea after idea came to his mind but he kept discarding them all knowing that the blue blur would beat him or would result in a tie. After much planning, he came up with the perfect idea and chuckled to himself at how he should've thought of it before.

The mysterious hedgehog in space is heading straight for Earth, Sonic has a date with Amy, and Shadow came up with the perfect plan (or so he thinks). Sounds like some unusual things are about to happen. What present did Amy give to Sonic that made him decide to date her? Stay tuned for another episode of Ozone the Hedgehog: Defender of Peace. (**A/N: Don't worry, the action is coming soon, if the story so far is popular enough that is**) R&R please.


	3. The arrival of the mysterious alien

Disclaimer: don't own Sonic characters or anything related to other games **EXCEPT** my OC

(**A/N**: This chapter takes place on the same day as the previous chapter)

As the space pod was headed towards Earth, the computer systems alerted the mysterious pilot that they were about to enter the atmosphere. The pilot heard this in his sleep and gave a small snort in response.

At GUN headquarters, some new recruits were busy training using the latest VR battle simulators to simulate real battles. It was like any other day for them, until all of a sudden the lights started flickering and the virtual enemies started to become distorted by some unknown force. Some of the troops figured that it could've been caused by space debris that managed to break into the atmosphere. They had no idea about what was going to happen.

Back at Tails' workshop, he finally completed modifying the machine gun that he was tinkering with to help GUN's robotics to be more efficient. When he went to go check his computer about the modifications he made, he was surprised to see it acting strange. The screen looked like it was being hit hard with static. Tails knew that the only time computers act like that is when something in space enters the Earth's atmosphere. Thinking about it for a minute, he decided to take the X-Tornado to investigate the problem. As he started up it's engines, he took out a strange device from under the pilot's seat and turned it on. It looked like a radar, but he made it specifically to track down objects entering the atmosphere. When he found out where the object was landing, his face went from serious to worry. The location the 'radar' pinpointed, was in Westopolis.

Somewhere in Centropolis, Sonic was busy looking for a present to give to Amy, but had no luck. Just when he decided to call it quits for the day, he heard the sound of a jet plane. He knew which vehicle made that sound, and looked towards it's source. Sure enough, he saw the X-tornado flying low. He knew from experience that when the Tails flies that low, he wants Sonic to get on so he can explain something important. Taking a small breath, he somersaulted onto the right wing of his friend's flying machine. As he landed, he asked, "**What's the problem, buddy?**" Tails explained what happened with his computer, and what he found out from his 'radar'.

Back at the space pod, the computer raised the 'red alert' warning and woke up the pilot from his slumber. "**Wha? Computer, what is it?**" The computer said, "**We have a problem with the landing space. Our trajectory indicates that we will be landing in a heavily populated area.**" The pilot figured that this could cause an uproar and get himself into trouble just by landing in the middle of the area. He quickly responded, "**Find a safer place to land, hurry! I don't want there to be any issues between the people living there and myself just by landing in the middle of the city**" The computer acknowledged his orders and set a course for the forest.

Somewhere in the forest, Eggman was running towards the deepest part of the forest looking for a suitable spot to build another base as part of his scheme to defeat Sonic and Shadow. Just as he found the right spot, he heard a noise coming from the sky. He looked up to find the source, and when he did, he ran for dear life. He saw the space pod headed straight towards him at breakneck speeds. As he was running, he tripped on a rock, sending the fat man tumbling forwards further into the forest. The strange thing is that when he stopped rolling, he got up and looked behind him. What he saw almost made him forget the incoming alien; he saw some trees knocked over in the path he was rolling (He chuckled at the thought that he played bowling with himself as the bowling ball and the trees as the pins). As he laughed at the strange turn of event that he called the 'bowling accident' he heard a crash coming from behind him. This nearly gave the scientist a heart attack, but calmed himself down quickly before investigating the strange object.

Back at the X-Tornado, Tails informed Sonic that the object the radar detected landed in the middle of the forest. The blue blur simply nodded, and Tails flew for the forest. By the time they got there, they not only found the mysterious object, but also Eggman. Sonic yelled, "**Allright, Eggman, what are you planning this time?**" The fat man jumped really high being surprised for the second time in a row. As he landed, he turned to face Sonic and said, "**What are you talking about? I decided to take a walk through the forest, until I heard a sound coming from the sky. When I looked, I saw that thing headed straight for me**" he pointed at the pod the moment he said 'that thing'. "**I don't have any evil plans this time, but I can't blame you for accusing me of something. I don't have any surprises or tricks up my sleeve today.**"

Inside the space pod, the computer informed it's occupant that they landed safely away from populated areas. The pilot gave a sigh of relief and went to the back of the ship to gather his weapons. Five minutes later, he came back out and said his farewells to the computer, then pushed a big button near the exit of the vessel.

Outside, Sonic and Eggman were busy arguing with each other, until they heard a noise coming from the mysterious object that landed there. Tails, Sonic, and Eggman turned to look at the strange ship to find that it started to shrink. When it was small enough, they saw a hedgehog standing there looking around the area. He had golden yellow fur with white-tipped quills. He wore red shoes with blue lightning decals on the sides and crimson-red gloves. When they noticed his weapons, they were struck with fear. The mysterious alien had a really long sword (**A/N: **think of Sephiroth's sword, but the blade is lightsaber-ish), and a huge rifle behind the sword. Little did they know that he has a simple hand-gun hidden in both shoes. Suddenly, he turned around and spotted the trio staring at him with curiosity. "**Sorry about that, had a hard time trying to find a safe place to land without causing a ruckus. Nice to meet you guys, my name is Ozone. Who are you guys?**" He asked with the same curiosity Sonic, Tails, and Eggman had.

The mysterious hedgehog, now known as Ozone, finally lands on Earth. What is Eggman really up to by being unarmed in the forest? Why was Ozone so concerned about where he was going to land? Stay tuned for the next episode of The Rise of Ozone the Hedgehog: Defender of Peace.


	4. unusual things start to happen

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything in this fanfic except my OC.

Sonic, Tails, and Eggman were surprised when the new visitor spoke to them in a friendly tone because they thought he came to destroy Earth with the weapons he had on him. After Ozone introduced himself, Sonic was the first to respond, "**Oh, I'm Sonic**". Tails and Eggman introduced themselves as well to the guest. After a while, Eggman came up with a way to use Ozone to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog.

Tails took a closer look at the shrunken space pod and asked, "**Hey, Ozone, do you mind if I borrow your space craft?**" Ozone replied, "**Take it if you want, I'm going to be on this planet for a long time.**" With that, he turned to look at the fat man and began to ask him questions about Earth. Eggman told Ozone what he knew about the planet and of some things that happened, like the black arms and races on extreme gear. The thing that caught Ozone's attention was the master emerald and what he knew about it. Suddenly, Sonic interrupted the conversation and hauled off the guest to a more remote place in the forest and began, "**If I were you, Ozone, I wouldn't trust Eggman**" Ozone was struck with wonder as to why the blue blur would say that, until he told the alien about the numerous times he tried to take over the world and the tactics he used.

Ozone was just about convinced to never trust Eggman, until the fat doctor bumped in and did what Sonic did to separate him from Ozone. Eggman already heard what Sonic told him about the times he tried to take over the world, and told the confused alien that they were all lies. Afterwards, he started to make up his own lies about how Sonic and his friends are the real villains. Surprisingly, that did the trick, and Ozone was now convinced that Sonic and his friends were the bad guys.

Sonic was talking to Tails about the visitor and the stuff he had on him, until the fox suddenly remembered that Sonic had a date with Amy tomorrow evening. "**Oh, man! I completely forgot.**" Sonic yelled in surprise. He turned to face Eggman and Ozone and told them, "**Sorry to leave like this, but I gotta go, later Ozone…**" He gave the doctor a stare that showed held-back anger and said, "**… And Eggman, you'd better not get any ideas with Ozone.**" With that, he sped off towards the city. Tails simply bowed his head in appreciation for the miniature space pod Ozone gave him, said his goodbyes, and darted after his blue buddy.

Ozone stood there for a moment, and said, "**Catch ya later, doc. I'm gonna check out this planet for a while.**" With that, he jumped towards the sky and used is levitation powers to fly around the world. He was enjoying some landmarks and attractions during his exploration of Earth, but some of the most interesting places he dropped by were the Mystic Ruins, Casino Park and similar casino places, Soleanna, and Angel Island.

Back with Sonic, he took out the gift Amy had given him and gave it to Tails to hold on to until tomorrow. It was a pair of shoes similar to Sonic's, but had the same features as Shadow's skate shoes. It was getting late, and Sonic decided to crash in the workshop for the night. Tails didn't mind since he made a rest area for when he needed to stop working.

The next day, Sonic woke with a big yawn and began wondering about Ozone the Hedgehog and his reasons for being on Earth. His thoughts were cut short when Tails came in and reminded the blue blur about his date with Amy. "**Aw, man! I totally forgot, again. Thanks again, buddy.**" Sonic said with shock, then added "**I'm off to look for something to give to Amy for our date….**" "**No need, Sonic. I already have something in mind. Just tell Amy to bring her Piko Piko hammer and I'll take care of your gift problem**". Tails interrupted, with excitement in his voice. Sonic thanked his orange friend and dashed for the exit. As he neared the door, he suddenly remembered the present he got from Amy and sped back to the young fox to retrieve it. "**Hey, Tails, where did you put those shoes Amy bought for me?**" Tails told Sonic to wait for a moment, went into his room, and came out with the shoes. Sonic then replaced his shoes with the ones Amy bought and checked himself out in a mirror. "**Not bad, I'm beginning to like these shoes already. They're the right size, **_**and**_** have the same feature as Shadow's skate-shoes.**" He thought to himself before making a beeline out of Tails' place.

Back with Amy, she was getting upset that she woke up early and how she wished the date was to be held earlier. She sighed in frustration, until she remembered that she had another present. "**I totally forgot about that gift.**" She thought it was for Sonic, until she remembered what was inside. Amy thought to herself, "**Maybe I can pass the time looking for Knuckles and giving him that present.**" After a while, she dashed off to look for the red Echidna.

The red echidna in question was strolling around Westopolis looking out for anything that could mean trouble, ranging from common criminals to Eggman's creations. He was strolling around, until he heard something that really gave him the chills: Amy Rose. From his experience, he knows that to be better off, just keep away from the pink hedgehog, that is, until today. He took a chance, and asked what Amy's up to this time. "**Knuckles, you're not going to believe what I found! Come with me, I'll show ya!**" With that, she grabbed Knuckles' arm and ran towards her house.

When they got there, the echidna began to regret the chance he took by going with Amy, but that took a turn for the better later. "**Knuckles, that big present is yours.**" He stood there doing the anime sweatdrop, and thanked Amy for the sudden turn of events. They unwrapped the big gift together, with Amy in excitement. When the present was unwrapped, Knuckles stood there dumbfounded, like his jaw dropped to the floor and eyes popped out of his head. "**What do you think, Knuckles? I found it in an antique store and thought you might like it.**" A moment later, he said, "**Wait here, I have to see if this is a joke.**" With that, he made a beeline straight for Angel Island to check on the Master Emerald.

About five minutes later, Knuckles returned speechless. "**What's wrong, Knuckles?**" Amy asked. He stuttered for a moment, then said, "**Amy, do you know what that gem you got me is?**" "**I don't know. I asked the store owner about it and he told me it was similar to the Master Emerald he was told about, and found it somewhere. He also said it was the only one he found.**" Knuckles then remembered something from his childhood that he forgot over the years.

Uh, oh! Seems like Ozone has been tricked by Eggman. How will Sonic and co. respond to this? What is it that Knuckles remembered? Stay tuned and you'll find out on the next chapter of The Rise of Ozone the Hedgehog: Defender of Peace.


	5. ForeShadow, Date, Alien, memories, oh my

Disclaimer: do I have to repeat myself? I own nothing but my OC.

Shadow the Hedgehog had gone over the plans he had for beating Sonic, which turned out to be a free-for-all brawl using every trick in their books to defeat each other. The one problem that he was busy working on is the location for it to be held. He thought of several places, like Westopolis so that the public can see the downfall of the blue blur, but that idea was scrapped due to possible civilian casualties. His thoughts were cut short, when he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned to see who came by, he saw the one person he hoped would stay out of trouble: Eggman.

He apparently overheard Shadow's plot to defeat Sonic, and assured Shadow that he isn't hiding anything and wanted to help him. "**Why should I trust you, doctor?**" The fat man replied, "**I know you want to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog, and you're looking for a place to hold it.**" With that, Shadow calmed down enough to hear the doctor's plan. After a while, the dark hedgehog smirked at the doctor's plan and agreed with it. Eggman also smirked, but with a different plan in mind.

It was around midday when Sonic the Hedgehog ran straight for Amy's house, when he remembered to tell the pink hedgehog about Tails' surprise. As he neared the front door, he started sweating like whenever prinnies are afraid of something (see end of this chapter for details). Finally, he got the nerve to ring the doorbell and get the ordeal over with. He had his own policy to never go back on his promises unless there's a _**good**_ reason for doing so, which he thought about changing to add exceptions so he can chicken out on this date. After a while, Amy came out ready to go. They left the house hand-in-hand, and headed for the movies. When they arrived, Amy picked out the movie they were to watch, and Sonic was surprised at her choice.

The blue blur was surprised when she wanted to watch 'Goldeneye' with him. This calmed Sonic down enough to try to enjoy his date and thought to himself "**Maybe dating her wasn't as bad as I thought.**" After buying the tickets, he went to the snack bar to get some popcorn and soda, and some nachos for the commercials that keep running over and over before the actual film. Once the snacks were bought, they were shown to their seats to enjoy the film.

Once the movie was over, he took Amy to a nearby coffee shop and hung out there for an hour talking about each other, and what they did before they met. After a while, Sonic took Amy to Tails' workshop saying that he and Tails had a something for her. When they got there, Tails greeted them with enthusiasm and took her to his work area. When they got there, Tails asked if Amy had her Piko Piko hammer with her. She replied, "**Yeah, I never go anywhere without it. Why do you need it?**" The only thing that Tails said was "**You'll see soon, but I promise you I am not going to get rid of it**." With those words, she summoned her signature weapon (don't ask how, but she does) and handed it over to the young fox.

Sonic took Amy over to the rest area that Tails designated, and played some board games to pass the time. After what seemed like hours, Tails came out of his work area and handed the hammer back to Amy. "**All done, you're going to **_**love**_** what it does now.**" With those words, she gave the two a big hug, nearly breaking their spines in the process. After escaping her 'hug of death', the blue blur took Amy back to her home and thanked her for the opportunity he had to enjoy some time with her. What surprised her the most was what Sonic did next. He gave Amy a kiss on the cheek, said his goodbyes to the girl, and ran off waving goodbye. "**Maybe I should do this more often, I actually enjoyed the ordeal.**" He thought to himself as he dashed towards Tails' workshop.

Ozone was flying around the world enjoying the sights, when he decided to head back to where he met Sonic and relax there. "**This world is almost perfect for me to live on. It would be perfect if only Sonic were out of the picture, then I can relax and live out my days in peace.**" He thought to himself as he lay on the grass. He was about to drift off into sleep, until he remembered something he forgot. "**Aw, man! I forgot to remove the computer protocol so no one can use it.**" His mind was racing with the possibilities of what people might do if they had his computer. His worry turned to relief when he suddenly remembered that he placed about ten password protection programs, each with different passwords that only he knew, before he left the space ship. With that 'problem' out of his mind, he placed a force field around himself so that the bugs won't disturb his sleep or cause problems during his rest.

The next morning, he woke up to an unusual situation. In front of him was a bunch of fruits and vegetables in a bowl, a tall glass of water and two hamburgers on a separate tray. He wondered who or what would place such a thing there, until he heard someone say, "**Finally woke up, huh?**" Ozone turned around to find Sonic leaning against a nearby tree. "**I don't know what you like to eat, but I brought ya a variety of things that I thought you might like. Must've been a rough trip coming to Earth from space.**" he added, before joining the alien for breakfast. Ozone spoke after finishing one of the burgers, "**Not much to say about it. It's a few hundred light-years from this planet, and is pretty much uneventful for the most part.**" He started, before reaching for an orange. "**I left that planet because I wanted something different. I couldn't stand staying there because it's very boring. From the moment we're born, we're taught everything about survival. Our lessons are very thoroughly explained with demonstrations as well. The classes range from simple basics to very technical complex subjects.**"

"**Sounds pretty dull to me**" Sonic said, before noticing a red vein popping up from Ozone's forehead that meant a world of hurt. That was, until he sighed and started, "**I guess I shouldn't get mad like that, knowing that you don't know half of what goes on over there.**" He then drained half the water in the glass before continuing, "**One of the main reasons why it's so boring there is because 1 in 100 people there are selected to join the government and participate in whatever goes on there.**" Sonic took a moment to 'digest' the information into his head before asking, "**Ok, but I have a question.**" Ozone looked at Sonic, then told him to ask his question. "**What do they do to ya once you learn everything they have to teach them?**" Ozone tried to remember what they did to 'graduates' when they learned everything they had to teach, then said he forgot. He then asked the blue blur, "**Why did you bring me this, anyway? I hardly ever get treated in a friendly way before**" Sonic simply replied, "**I guess you can say it's an act of kindness, and I just want to show you that there are some decent people on this planet.**" "**I guess so. Thanks for the breakfast though.**" He told Sonic before returning his attention to his morning meal.

Back with Knuckles, an image of the seven chaos emeralds surrounding the master emerald were clear in his mind, before he noticed something in a corner of the image he used to picture. When he tried to get a better look at the unusual picture in his mind, he saw a hint of red surrounding a somewhat pointy gem. He tried to dig deeper into his memories as a child, and opened his eyes in astonishment. "**So there was another master emerald after all!**" he exclaimed before hurrying back towards Angel Island.

Sonic's date with Amy wasn't as bad as he originally thought. Shadow the Hedgehog seems to be impressed with Eggman's plan, but what is it? Will Team Chaotix get a part in the story? Stay tuned and find out in the next chapter!

(information on prinnies: they're disgaea monsters/allies that look like penguins with peg-legs for feet, and a brown pouch strapped to their bellies. That's as close to a description as I can get as seen in the actual game and anime. One more thing: I DON'T OWN DISGAEA!)


	6. Memories, introductions, and a gift

Disclaimer: I think you guys get it… I don't own anything except my OC.

Knuckles was busy 'digging' through his memories as a child, while gliding towards Angel Island, to find more about the red gem Amy showed him, until he found something hidden deep down his memories. There were seven chaos emeralds, and also seven _master emeralds_. He was chosen to guard the _green_ master emerald, but he never questioned the reason until now as to why he forgot about the seven master emeralds. He forgot because he was focused on the green master emerald and didn't bother to wonder if there were any other master emeralds.

As soon as he arrived at the master emerald's altar where it had remained for a long time, he mentally asked the gem about other master emeralds. After a while, Tikal appeared outside the master emerald and said, "**I guess it's about time you know about the others.**"

Back in the forest, once breakfast was over, Ozone started asking questions about Sonic, like what he does in general, his likes/dislikes, and other topics that people normally talk about. After what seemed like an hour, Sonic decided to introduce Ozone to his friends and to GUN. "**I've got nothing else to do. It might help to know some people and whatnot.**" Ozone responded with interest.

He first introduced the alien to Amy, who looked slightly intimidated at his appearance, but was assured that he doesn't use his weapons unless he really needs to. Sonic thought about introducing him to Tails, but remembered that he was there when Ozone landed. The next ones he decided to introduce to Ozone was Team Chaotix. "**If you need something found, an infiltration group, or some muscle to help ya out in a lot of situations, give these guys a call**." Sonic informed the alien. He then went to Cream's place and found her playing with her Chao outside. Vanilla greeted Sonic when he knocked on the door, and asked about his 'friend'. "**This guy is Ozone the Hedgehog. He came from space and doesn't like to fight. Don't be intimidated by the weapons he carries, he doesn't use them unless threatened.**" At that moment, Cream came by and asked about the foreign creature. Vanilla explained everything Sonic told her and Cream was excited that she met a friendly alien.

After saying their goodbyes to the rabbits, Sonic planned to take Ozone to be acquainted with Shadow the Hedgehog. He looked all over Westopolis looking for the ebony hedgehog, until he heard a sinister chuckle. From his experience, that chuckle belonged to only one being, Shadow. He started, "**Been a while, Sonic. You ready to lose?**" Sonic shrugged that off and said, "**Not this time, Shadow. I've been looking for you so I can introduce you to the new visitor. He came from outer space, and we can prove it**" Shadow was a little skeptical about Ozone coming from space, until he noticed the weapons he carried. "**Alright, Sonic. I'm convinced already. I know that the weapons he carries are not made from this planet.**" Ozone was taken back when Shadow said 'this planet'. "**Shadow! have you been to other planets?**" Ozone asked in excitement. Shadow nodded 'no' which caused the alien to sigh in disappointment. Sonic then spoke up, "**No time for challenges this time, Shadow. Just wanted to get you acquainted with Ozone.**" "**hmph.**" Was the last thing Sonic heard Shadow say before jumping towards the roof of another building.

After a while, Ozone was introduced to the rest of Sonic's friends and was acquainted with them all. Now that everyone knew Ozone, he asked the blue blur to go see Tails. Sonic just nodded 'sure' and dashed towards the fox's workshop with the alien in hand. Once there, Ozone told the young anthro that he forgot some things in his space pod and needed to retrieve them."**Right this way, Ozone.**" Tails responded, showing the visitor to his work area. At the work desk where he does his tinkering, he faced Ozone and asked him how he shrunk the space ship's size. "**I activated one of it's security programs so that no one but myself can use it. Let me get it back to normal size so I can retrieve the stuff I forgot.**" With that, he pushed a piece of the chassis inwards and it grew to normal size.

"**It's all yours once I'm finished in here, Tails**" Ozone said before entering the vessel he landed in. Ozone pushed some buttons on the keyboard next to the exit he came in from and a screen made of what seemed like gelatin popped out of the wall near the door. He placed his open hand and pressed on the gel-like screen. It scanned the molecular structure of the user and recognized it as it's owner. "**Welcome back, Ozone.**" The computer said, then added, "**How can I be of service today?**" Ozone replied, "**I'm here for a few things…**"

About five minutes later, the alien opened the door to his space pod, and told Tails, "**You're the only one besides me who can start up this vessel now. All you have to do to start it up is to use the keyboard near the exit and type in the command on the screen. Then follow the directions from there. It'll be straightforward and simple to do. I've reconfigured the security system to respond to our molecular structures only when prompted.**" Tails was very excited when he heard that he can now use the foreign space vessel and use it as his own. Ozone gave the young fox a demonstration of how it works, and he was surprised when the orange anthro got the hang of using and operating the vessel so quickly. "**You sure are a fast learner, eh Tails?**" Ozone said with enthusiasm. Tails simply replied, "**When it comes to technology, I can't help but find out how they're made, how it works, and what it's uses are.**"

Ozone was about to leave when he remembered something he had in his hands. It looked like an ID card, but with Ozone's face on the top-left corner of the card. He had a similar one in his other hand, but it had Tails' face instead. He ran back towards the young fox and said, "**I almost forgot to give you this. It's a special card that works like a key when you want to get in the space pod, and is needed if you want to start up the space ship.**" Tails turned just in time to see Ozone tossing the card to him, and caught it before it hit him in the head. The fox looked at it for a moment, and became excited that he can now pilot the ship. Ozone noticed his excitement, and said, "**Almost forgot to tell you this, but if you don't know how to pilot the space ship, don't worry about a thing. I've set everything up for you. Do you know how to fly a plane?**" Tails nodded 'yeah' and the alien continued, "**Same concept, but a lot more options to use. Once you try it out, you'll probably learn more about it through experience than through me explaining it.**" He turned to leave, before saying, "**Have fun, Tails**". With those words, he levitated himself with his powers and rocketed out of the workshop to continue his exploration of the planet.

Seems like Ozone isn't as bad of a person/anthro as we thought, eh? What does Tikal know about the other master emeralds? There's more coming soon, but until then, laters.


	7. Answers, evil plans, surprise, and fear

Disclaimer: I guess you are sick of me repeating myself when I say that I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!

At Angel Island, Knuckles was wondering about the Red master emerald, until Tikal came out of the green master emerald and told Knuckles, "**It's about time you know about them**" Knuckles just nodded and sat down. Tikal then began, "**There were many Echidna tribes when they still existed, and some of them had their own master emeralds.**" Knuckles nodded, taking in this information. Tikal acknowledged that facial message from Knuckles and continued, "**As with their own master emeralds, they also had their own chaos emeralds to go with the master emeralds. Each master emerald had it's set of seven chaos emeralds. It doesn't matter if the chaos emeralds are from different master emeralds, their powers unlock when seven emeralds are together, but they all have to be different color, and grant it's owner powers that are unbelievable. The same could be said about the master emeralds, but they'd be nearly god-like if they possessed all seven **_**master emeralds**_**, but that's only in theory. If someone got hold of **_**all seven master emeralds **__**and**__** chaos emeralds**_**, then they'd be, literally, unstoppable.**" Knuckles nearly had a heart attack when he heard that someone would be unstoppable when they possessed all the emeralds (that would be about 56 altogether! This includes the seven master emeralds, and each set of seven chaos emeralds that go with the master emeralds).

Back with Eggman, he was busy working on creating a sleeping potion, when Shadow walked in carrying a handful of various mushrooms, fungus, herbs, and even liquids of sorts. The fat man praised the dark anthro and ordered him to wait outside. The ebony hedgehog nodded and did as he was told. About five minutes later, the evil doctor came out with two guns that contained some special liquids. "**Alright Shadow, here's the plan**" He called to Shadow, who was leaning on a wall with his arms folded. Shadow raised his head with an evil smirk as he heard the doctor's instructions.

Ozone was checking out Earth going pretty much anywhere that he pleased, seeing the sights, meeting new people, and the such. He had a lot of fun just flying around the planet seeing new things, until he got hungry. He spotted a forest below him, and dove down in there. Thanks to the education he got from his planet, he was able to find some edible plants and mushrooms. To ordinary Earth creatures, they'd think Ozone just picked out random fungus and leaves and ate them without knowing what they were.

Once Ozone's hunger diminished, he took off again and headed for Tails' workshop. By the time he got there, Tails came out with eagerness. Ozone figured that it must mean something important. "**Hey, Ozone! I got something to tell ya. I set up a place near the workshop where you can stay if you need a temporary 'Home'**" Ozone was surprised to hear the young fox tell him something he was about to ask the mechanic about, and told Tails, "**Thanks, Tails. You know, I was **_**just**_** about to ask if I could use your workshop as a 'home' and help you out with your inventions as payment for 'rent'.**" Tails, as excited as he was already, became a little more ecstatic knowing that he would get alien help (PUNintended) with his inventions. The alien smiled knowing that he now had a place to go to whenever he wanted a place to hang out in for a while.

At the Chaotix base, Vector looked at Espio and saw him with a fearful face that said he was afraid of something. The chameleon in question was usually calm, quiet, and brave, but something's been bothering him for the past few days. Charmy was in his little atrium, but when he saw Espio, he flew over and asked him what's bothering him. He told the young bee, "**I don't know why, but the really powerful feeling I felt a few days ago from some entity came closer yesterday, and I feel that we must stop it before something bad happens.**" His boss then spoke up, "**Espio, you need to get out there and confront whatever it is that's bothering ya. We might not have a job yet, but that doesn't mean we can't confront our own problems in the meantime.**" Espio turned his head to look at the croc, then the boss continued, "**Espio, let's go find that entity and work this out so that you can be your old self when a job comes around.**" The chameleon nodded his head in acknowledgement and motioned for Charmy to follow him as the three of them ran out of their base and strait toward the entity that was bothering Espio.

As they were looking for the source of Espio's problem, they had little luck searching for whatever was bothering their comrade. Suddenly, Espio's nervousness intensified as they neared Tails' workshop. Charmy was the first to notice this, and called to Vector, "**Hey, boss, we must be getting near the source of the problem**" The reptile looked at the bee, then at the chameleon. He then noticed what Charmy was referring to and praised the young member of the group for his insight. Using Espio as a tracking device, they searched the workshop until they came across a small 'house'. Once there, Espio's shuddering had reached it's peak effect that he now was afraid of even getting _near_ the house. Vector shook his head in frustration, and rang the doorbell to the small house.

Inside the house was Ozone, taking a nap on the couch, until he heard the doorbell ring. He woke up with a small trace of grumpiness but went to the door to see who it was. He found the Chaotix group outside with Espio on the ground in fear. "**Can I help ya?**" the alien asked. Vector replied, "**Yeah, our friend here, Espio, said he get this strange feeling that something terrible was gonna happen when he sensed a powerful entity somewhere. He said it arrived only a few days ago, and he just got a little worst each day. We used him as a tracking device to find the source and it looks like it may be here.**" Ozone looked at the chameleon, and said, "**Is he always like that?**" Charmy replied, "**No. he used to be quiet, calm, and brave, but he hasn't been the same since he felt some strange presence some time ago. We went looking for the source, and found you near that source.**"

What is it that Espio is getting freaked out about? Why did Eggman need guns with ammunition that puts it's victims to sleep? All that might be answered in the next chapters of The Rise of Ozone the Hedgehog: Defender of Peace!


	8. ultimate power, evil plans, oh dear

I'd like to give my thanks to sonicx man for the first review.

Disclaimer: I know you're sick of reading the disclaimer, but it's for my own safety against lawyers and business corporations from suing me. I said it before and I'll say it again: I OWN NOTHING IN THIS FANFIC! THE ONLY THING I OWN IS MY OC!

Knuckles was busy listening to Tikal explain the basic concepts of the other master emeralds, until she came to a subject that made him interrupt her the moment she said it: The ultimate emerald. Tikal explained, "**It doesn't exist in physical form, but the only way it can be used is when **_**all**_** 56 emeralds are brought together**." Knuckles heard stories about the ultimate emerald as bedtime stories and how it was used to stop an evil more devastating than anything anyone has seen combined. "**So, it appears when all the emeralds are brought together? Sounds fair enough considering the powers it might have. Can you tell me where the other master emeralds are?**" Tikal simply nodded 'no' and said "**That is the only thing I don't know about them. I **_**do**_** know, however, that five of them are on different planets. Their respective chaos emeralds are also with them. That's everything I know**" Once Knuckles heard the last bit of information, he mentally told the emerald to shrink to portable size, and it did so. The echidna hid the jewel in his left shoe and left for Tails' workshop.

Dr. Eggman overheard what Tikal said and something in his mind clicked. He now knows that if he got his hands on the ultimate emerald, he can make the death egg totally indestructible, unstoppable, and would get his revenge on Sonic the Hedgehog without any errors. He gave an evil laugh at the thought, and pulled out his walkie-talkie. He apparently contacted Shadow and told him what he heard. "**Now that sounds promising.**" The ebony hedgehog remarked, then continued, "**With that 'ultimate emerald' at my disposal, I will be the ultimate life form.**" With that, he gave an evil, sinister laugh at the thought of defeating Sonic and proving his inferiority.

Shadow didn't realize that there was something behind him and it heard everything the anthro heard. It looked like Sonic the Hedgehog, but was metallic. It was Metal Sonic, the robotic creation of Dr. Eggman that merely wanted to defeat Sonic and prove it's superiority over it's organic doppelganger. Once it processed the information, it started up the rockets in it's feet and flew off towards Angel Island.

Sonic was racing around in Centropolis for no apparent reason, when Knuckles crossed paths with the blue blur and came to a halt. "**Hey, Knucles, what's up this time, buddy?**" Knuckles ushered Sonic into an alley, and whispered everything he learned about the other master emeralds and the 'ultimate emerald'. Sonic's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard about an entity stronger than the master emerald. "**Thanks for the heads up, Knuckles. I know just the group to help us find the Chaos emeralds for the master emerald that Amy found**." With that, he darted towards the Chaotix base.

When he got there, he knocked on the door, hoping to break the news quickly. After what seemed like 5 minutes of waiting, he figured they were busy with a job, and mentally slapped himself for forgetting the payment. This came as a lucky break for him when he learned they were _not_ there at the time. He then remembered that the Chaotix team accept payments in rings, but their policy with rings is that the price is scaled to the difficulty of the task. With that in mind, the blue blur ran across the world grabbing every ring (the ones from the Sonic games, mind you, not the ones people wear) he found lying around. He gathered about ten thousand rings thinking that many would be sufficient for payment (don't ask where he holds or stashes them during his travels, every ring he collects disappears somewhere for him to use at any time; think of the situation like the Sonic games when you collect rings. That's the thing when Sonic collects them). With all those rings, he headed towards Tails' workshop to store those rings.

At Tails' place, Team Chaotix was busy talking about Espio's problem while the young fox was playing with the space ship. One of the first things he did when he started up the vessel was get a copy of it's blueprints and all data needed to make copies of the space pod. Vector suddenly had an idea of how to find whatever was troubling Espio. He literally grabbed the chameleon and used him like a tracking device to find the source of the ninja's problem. The crocodile held out the chameleon to just about every object in the mini-house, and there wasn't any luck. The moment Vector passed Ozone, Espio suddenly freaked out and yelled, "**H…h…he's the source of this disturbing feeling I've been getting!**" Tails and Ozone turned to look at Espio like he had gone mad. Vector and Charmy, on the other hand, were surprised to hear that, and the croc put the chameleon down on a sofa. Vector and Charmy apologized for Espio's unusual behavior and went to talk to Ozone about whatever it could be that might be troubling their comrade.

Amy went to go to Tails' workshop to see if Sonic was there so she can ask him out on another date. Unknown to her was a pair of crimson eyes hiding behind some bushes. The mysterious creature darted out of it's hiding spot and headed straight for Amy. The pink hedgehog suddenly heard a whirring sound and turned to look at the source of the noise. Just as she saw the strange creature, she felt a blow to her gut and was about to black out. Before she fell unconscious, she heard her attacker say, "**Part one of my plan completed.**" Apparently, the voice sounded rather monotonous and robotic-like, but that was the last thing he heard before passing out completely.

Seems like there are more reasons for another major conflict to strike the peaceful world with a new, more powerful entity than the master emeralds. What kind of untold powers could the ultimate emerald have that the master emeralds do not? Why is Espio freaking out whenever he's near Ozone? What could Metal Sonic be up to? The only way to find out is to stay tuned for the next chapter of The Rise of Ozone the Hedgehog: Defender of Peace.


	9. Emerald hunt begins part 1

_Sorry about delay, Internet was out._

Disclaimer: Even I am getting tired of repeating myself, but this is the only way to avoid lawsuits and legal trouble. I've said it before, and I'll say it again to avoid any problems. *takes a deep breath* **I DON'T OWN ANYTHING BUT MY OC!**

Metal Sonic held the unconscious Amy under it's arm and set it's next target due Northbound. The robotic menace fired up the thrusters in the soles of it's 'feet' and flew for his destination (I know machines are technically considered genderless for the most part, but we'll consider Metal Sonic as 'male' for this story). "**Next target: Angel Island**" The machine told himself as he began his flight.

Sonic caught up with Knuckles just as soon as the echidna reached for the front door to the workshop. Knuckles asked, "**Were they there?**" Sonic nodded 'no' and told the echidna about the multitude of rings he gathered. *OLD JOKE ALERT* The red anthro's jaw nearly dropped when he heard that Sonic gathered that many rings. After regaining his composure, he yelled out loud, "**it's over nine-THOUUUSSSSAAAAAANNNNNNNDDDD!!**" *end old joke alert* Sonic had to cover his ears when Knuckles yelled out the joke or else he'd lose his hearing. "**Hey, Knuckles, that joke has already been told. Besides, I gathered that many to pay for the Chaotix's help. You know how they are with the bills they have to pay for their home, y'know?**" The echidna considered the blue blur's actions and acknowledged the speedy anthro's plans for thinking ahead and praised him.

The moment they entered the door, they saw the Chaotix team chatting with Ozone about Espio's issue with the alien. Ozone assured Espio that he may have unreal powers, but he doesn't like to use them unless needed to ensure peace. That calmed down the chameleon a bit, and then realized the bad vibes he had from before were just nervousness. "**First time it ever happened to me, sorry about that**" Espio started before continuing, "**I guess it happens whenever I think something bad might happen… and most of the time I'm right.**" The chameleon continued talking with Ozone about his issues with the alien in question, until Espio couldn't feel the bad vibes from the newcomer anymore.

Sonic broke the peace between Espio and Ozone by explaining what he heard from Knuckles about the other master emeralds and the 'ultimate emerald'. Vector was leaning on one of the walls of Ozone's 'house' when he looked towards his purple comrade and noticed his behavior change. Charmy, on the other hand, was on top of the crocodile's head taking a short nap out of boredom. The green croc shook his head to get the bee to wake up and inform him about a change in the chameleon's behavior and assumed the problem was solved.

After hearing what Sonic and Knuckles asked them to do, Espio smiled a smile that made his teammates get excited over. The croc was the first to ask, "**What's up this time, Espio?**" The chameleon replied, "**Boys, we got a BIG job to do right now. Sonic wants us to search the world for chaos emeralds. He said they already have seven of them, **_**BUT**_** there is another set of seven somewhere in the world.**" He smirked, then continued, "**He's paid half now, and will pay us the other half when we find the other set of seven chaos emeralds. Knuckles says that if we come across them, he says to bring them back to him to see if they are the chaos emeralds in the set he recently discovered.**" Charmy got excited and concluded, "**So, it's a scavenger hunt for chaos emeralds, but we have to search the world for them, right?**" the chameleon replied, "**That's the basic idea, Charmy.**" With that, the three didn't ask anymore questions and simply darted out of the workshop in search of the other chaos emeralds.

Somewhere outside Prison Island, Eggman was building what seemed like a huge dome-shaped coliseum for the fight he planned with Shadow about. While he was hauling around scrap metal for the construction of his arena, his foot hit something on the ground and he fell face-first on the ground. As he turned to kick whatever he tripped on, he noticed that the object glowed a bright shade of orange. When he picked it up, he immediately recognized it as a chaos emerald and placed it in the pocket of his pants. After stuffing it into his pocket, the fat man resumed the construction of his battle arena he's preparing for Shadow.

The ebony hedgehog in question was practicing some new tricks with his powers, until he noticed something in the corner of his eyes. He went to investigate, until he saw what caught his attention: a chaos emerald. Eying it with evil ambitions, he picked it up and returned to inventing new attacks. His progress skyrocketed now that he had a chaos emerald in his possession since he lost his when they were in the world grand prix extreme gear tournament. He had been trying a new technique which he thought did absolutely nothing, until he noticed that he felt stronger in terms of physical strength. Shadow tried the move again, and discovered it's use: boost's the target's physical strength…for a limited time.

He tried another move that he thought was useless, until he grew tired from experimenting. After trying the 'useless move' one last time for the day, he suddenly felt himself surrounded in a green 'ball' of chaos energy. The chaos energy surrounding Shadow suddenly started shrinking, but that's not what surprised him the most. The green energy ball passed right through him, still shrinking of course, and soon enough, he felt his body absorb the ball of energy and he felt like brand new. Once the ebony anthro took in the sudden change that happened, he no longer felt tired, but raring to go on training. He thought the newly discovered technique might be of some help to him, and he called it his 'chaos regen' move. He then learned it's purpose: regenerates the target's energy for a limited time.

Seems like Espio finally overcame the bad vibes from earlier and passed on the information regarding their new assignment to his teammates. What other tricks could Shadow have in store for the blue blur? Will the Chaotix team succeed in retrieving the chaos emeralds from Eggman and Shadow? What does Ozone think about the 'ultimate emerald' he heard about from Knuckles? The only way to find out is to stay tuned for the next chapter!


	10. Emerald Hunt continues Part 2

Disclaimer: If repeating myself was a job I get paid for doing, I'd probably have enough money to live out the rest of my life for the next 50 years… too bad it ain't a real job. Oh well… here's the Disclaimer… again: **I don't own anything in this story except my OC!**

At Angel Island, Metal Sonic was racing across the jungle, making his way over to the Master Emerald shrine. As he was gliding around trees, the sensors in his head detected an abnormal reading somewhere nearby. The robotic menace slowed to a halt and landed in the dense sea of trees. He activated the sensor's pinpoint feature and resumed flying in the general direction of the new abnormality. The object in question was laying out in the middle of a clearing resting on a huge boulder. Once the robot found the strange object, he recognized it as a violet chaos emerald. When the Metal Sonic scanned the gem for authenticy, the results ended up to be true: it was the real deal. The thing that now bugged the metallic menace was this: it had all the properties, energy levels, and structures of the seven chaos emeralds he already knew about.

The robot also knew that the seven chaos emeralds he knew were well guarded by Sonic and his friends. Metal Sonic decided to analyze the emerald later, and flew off towards the master emerald shrine. By the time he got there, he was taken aback by what he saw… the master emerald wasn't there. Listing down the possible situations, he chose the one that he thought made the most sense: Eggman stole it while Knuckles raced to tell the others about the legend of the 'ultimate emerald'. With that situation recognized as his new objective to investigate, the metallic menace fired up the rockets in his 'feet' and headed towards the fat man's lair.

Somewhere on the moon, an alien with three eyes and a strange necklace was recovering from a certain dark hedgehog's betrayal. "**Curse that Shadow! I gave him life, and he betrays me**" The dark alien muttered to himself as he hovered there trying to heal his wounds from the incident at GUN Headquarters where he and Shadow faced off after the alien invaded the Earth. With all those incidents still haunting him, Black Doom swore to get back at the ebony anthro. The alien then remembered something about his research on the Earth before he planned to invade it: there were some herbs that, if properly prepared with specific ingredients, could dramatically heal the consumer physically. The side effect of the concoction is the loss of their chaos powers for a day.

With the research in mind, Black Doom came up with a devious plan to get revenge on Shadow and Eggman. The alien thought of a clever plan to use that research to heavily cripple the ebony anthro's combat capabilities and limit his strategies. He now knows that if he somehow feeds Shadow the concoction before fighting the dark hedgehog, he might have a big advantage. When he planned out his strategy for Shadow, he then devised a plan to get rid of Eggman and complete his revenge on both of them. He smirked about the possible outcome of the strategy and began making preparations immediately. With those things in mind, he set off towards Earth in search of those herbs and spices.

Shadow was busy practicing some new chaos abilities, until he noticed a cloaked figure flying above him going towards Centropolis. At the first glance of the mysterious figure, Shadow got a bad feeling about what might happen. Sure enough, his intuitions were right as he recognized the cloaked entity as Black Doom. Shadow muttered in frustration, "**Damn! I thought I got rid of him already back at GUN HQ! Whenever he's around, I know he's up to something huge. I get the feeling he's looking for something, and that something might mean trouble for me.**" With those thoughts in mind, the dark hedgehog raced after his alien father (no pun intended).

Out of Black Doom's eye, he spotted something of interest and descended to investigate. He looked around for the source of the object that caught his attention, until he saw the prize laying on a rock. Once the alien grabbed the object of interest, he immediately recognized it as a chaos emerald, but it was brown in color. "**Ah, yes. My first find today: a chaos emerald**". When Black Doom finished that statement, he flew off with the gem in hand in search of his original targets. Shadow tried to keep up with the alien, but lost sight of him. The ebony hedgehog decided to quit chasing Black Doom for the day and headed off to Eggman's base.

Somewhere in the city, Espio had a hard time finding one of the chaos emeralds he was looking for, until he came up with an idea he might regret later. He went to go see Rouge and ask her if she had any Chaos Emeralds. The moment he left the park in search of the jewel-loving bat, he found the anthro in question flying above him heading north for an antique store. "**Hey, Rouge!**" The chameleon yelled out to get her attention, but surprisingly she stopped to look for whoever it was that called for her. "**Alright, who called?**" She asked out loud, as if to ask everyone in the vicinity. The chameleon spoke up and told the bat his intentions. "**Oh, my. This sounds interesting, but is **_**this**_** what you're looking for?**" with those words, she pulled out a green gem from her pockets and showed it to Espio. "**I'm not sure if it is, but Knuckles might know if it's the one I'm after.**" The chameleon said, then took her towards Tails' workshop.

In the dense jungle of the Frog Forest, Vector asked the inhabitants if they saw a mysterious stone that glowed and had strange powers. A lot of them replied with a 'no'. Just as soon as the croc was about to give up, a HUGE alligator jumped out of the swamp waters and was thrashing around wildly. When Vector saw this, he jumped onto the oversized reptile's back in hopes of avoiding death. This attempt was cut short when Vector heard something coming from the raging alligator's mouth. Since Vector was reptilian, he could barely understand those sounds due to his lack of experience of his animal's language. What Vector _did_ understand was that the overgrown swamp dweller was in pain. The thing that puzzled Vector at that moment was what could cause the mad alligator so much pain. Trying to recall the reptilian language he nearly forgot over the years, he tried to calm the beast down enough to ask what's wrong. Sure enough, it worked and the scaly monster said to Vector, "**I was yawning after waking up, and when I closed my mouth, I felt a huge surge of pain coming from one of my teeth.**" Vector replied, "**How about I check out that problem for ya?**" The monstrous alligator nodded and opened his big, gaping mouth to let the smaller reptile in (after Vector jumped off the scaly beast's back once calmed of course) The monster told Vector to get on his tongue so he can show the smaller reptile the tooth that had been hurting. As the larger reptile moved his tongue closer to the source of the toothache, Vector saw the problem immediately. It was a purple chaos emerald stuck between the large alligator's teeth. "**Aha! Here's the problem, there was a shiny emerald stuck between your teeth.**" After the smaller reptile went outside the monster's mouth, the overgrown reptile was overly grateful for Vector's help and submerged into the swamp waters without another word or sound. With the emerald in hand, the Chaotix Team leader made a mad dash towards their clients' workshop.

Charmy was flying around the aquatic city of Soleanna in search of the chaos emerald he was told to seek out. It took him about half an hour to comb out the west side of the watery capitol, an hour to search the northern part, twenty minutes in the east, and ten minutes in the south. After searching the corners of Soleanna, he landed to rest his wings at the center of the aquatic city. It wasn't long after he landed until he heard a girl's voice calling out to the bee to ask him a question. The young lady was wearing a mini-dress with matching shoes and a 'crown' of feathers. She was Princess Elise, the one who contains Iblis within herself, and ruler of the city. She walked up to the naïve Team Chaotix member and asked, "**Is something wrong, Mr. Bee?**" Charmy, who didn't notice her approach, jumped up the moment she asked and turned to face the person talking to him. "**Whoah, you startled me**" He said when he turned to face the princess, then continued, "**To answer your question: Yes, I'm actually looking for something. I'm looking for a chaos emerald…**" Elise interrupted, "**I've heard of those! Is this the one you're looking for?**" with that, Princess Elise reached into her pockets and pulled out a silver-ish gem. Charmy instantly recognized it as the target objective: the chaos emerald he was looking for. The princess hesitated for a moment, and said, "**It's yours if you want it, but there's something I need you to do for me first.**"

The now hyped-up bee eagerly responded, "**Name it and I'll do what I can!**" The ruler of Soleanna then explained, "**I need you to take this scepter of darkness to the bank here and also…**" she then took out a piece of paper and handed it to Charmy, "**…give this to the bank teller. It contains instructions on what they have to do with the scepter. There is one more thing you should know: if you break the scepter, you will unleash the deadly evil contained inside.**" Charmy gulped at the _thought_ of the consequences if he wasn't careful, and eagerly accepted the job. He stuck the note inside the helmet he was wearing, and held the scepter like a metal rod that street punks bang on their hands to show intimidation. The trip to the bank was pretty much smooth considering the fact that he was flying above the people, which lowered the odds of Charmy dropping the staff by mistake. The moment he arrived at the bank, he went up to the bank teller and handed the employee the staff of darkness. He then took out the note he had under his helmet and gave it to the bank worker. He nodded in acknowledgement and thanked the bee for delivering the staff to him. With that, Charmy left the bank with excitement to tell the princess that he completed his job.

"**Hey, miss! I delivered that staff for you.**" The bee said when he met up with Elise again. She turned to face the bee, and said, "**Thank you, and sorry I haven't introduced myself before, I'm Princess Elise, the ruler of this magnificent city, Soleanna.**" The bee whistled in awe knowing that he's in the presence of the most powerful person in the city, then introduced himself to her. She then handed Charmy the chaos emerald she promised him and he left before she could even say 'goodbye'.

End of Chapter... Need anything else to know? Heh, heh… no other comment except 'STAY TUNED!


	11. the hunt continues part 3

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own a thing except for my OC. If I actually owned anything in SEGA, I would've wasted my allowance on something I don't know what to do with (statement 'borrowed' from another author whom I forgot).

A funny thing happened at Tails' workshop the next day: the Chaotix Team showed up at the front door at the exact same time the young kitsune began 'work' in his lab. Espio was the first to speak up when his teammates arrived, "**How'd it go, guys?**" The team leader replied first, "**Mission 'partly-accomplished… we still have more emeralds to find, but I found one.**" Charmy then pitched in, "**Not only did I find my chaos emerald, but I also found something interesting where I found it: a scepter of darkness that contains an ancient evil that, when fused with another ancient evil, creates a deadly, doomsday-like entity. I was told to take that scepter to the bank there for safekeeping.**" The ninja member then breathed a sigh of relief at Charmy's unusual behavior since he knows that the bee is usually reckless when given a mission. Espio then concluded, "**Ok guys, I guess we're halfway done our mission. We might as well cash in the emeralds we have so far, and then continue our search.**"

Knuckles was asleep on a couch in Tails' workshop until he heard a knock on the door. The knocking on the door was enough to wake up the echidna from his slumber, and he groggily walked to the front door. He wasn't surprised to see the Chaotix Team outside, but he was surprised to see that they each had a chaos emerald in their hands. The Chaotix Team explained what happened on their ends of their search, and where they found it before handing their gems over to the master emerald guardian. Knuckles then said, "**Thanks guys, I'll be sure to let the others know about your progress. Here's a little bonus for the moment.**" At that moment, the red echidna pulled out a TV screen that showed a picture of rings with a little number on the bottom; it contained 300 rings. "**Thank you for your business, but now we must be off to finish our original assignment.**" Espio said after accepting Knuckle's bonus, but before he and the Chaotix Team raced off in search of the rest of the emeralds.

The feeling of success in Knuckles quickly dissipated when he heard a female's voice coming from behind him saying, "**Long time no see, Knuckie.**" That was enough to send chills down the echidna's spine and turn around. In front of him was the jewel-obsessed bat, Rouge. "**What do you want now, Rouge?**" he said after regaining posture. "**What are you talking about? I just heard about your emerald dilemma and dropped in lend ya a hand**" She replied with a grin. Knuckles noticed the grin on her face and decided to question the detail later.

The echidna told Rouge the basic idea behind the new emerald situation, and sure enough she had sparkles in her eyes that meant one thing: she was daydreaming about how much money she could make selling them. "**Rouge! Pay attention! These 'gems' aren't supposed to be sold, they're not even worth anything to any jewel store on this planet. I made sure that any stores handling gems, jewels, and antiques don't pay a cent for the chaos emeralds.**" Knuckles stated with pride. Rouge huffed at the echidna's cleverness and said, "**Clever, but not quite clever enough. Let me just cut to the chase; I'll help you find the other set of chaos emeralds, and we can discuss the reward later. Sound fair enough?**" Knuckles pondered her plan for a moment, then replied, "**Sorry, Rouge, I'm not sure if I can trust you enough. I know you love jewels, but these chaos emeralds aren't the type to keep; they're the kind that contain immense power if used correctly.**" The jewel-obsessed bat sighed a breath of defeat, knowing that she can't win an argument with the echidna when it comes to gems with great powers, so she flew off without another word.

Ozone was getting bored in the 'house' and thought he might as well look for the chaos emeralds as well since he needed something to help him pass the time. He told Tails that he was going to help the Chaotix Team scrounge up some of the chaos emeralds. The young fox acknowledged his intentions and the alien took off to look for them.

As Ozone left the workshop, he saw a blue object flying overhead and noticed that it was carrying something pink. When he observed the overhead blur closely, he saw that it was none other than Metal Sonic carrying an unconscious Amy Rose. Ozone immediately knew that the robotic anthro was up to something big when he saw him carrying an unconscious female. With those thoughts in mind, he zoomed off in pursuit of Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic landed in an unexpected place that made Ozone wonder why the robotic menace would stop there. They landed in the capitol of Soleanna. What surprised Ozone even further was the fact that Metal Sonic raced off for Princess Elise's castle. It then became clear to the alien about the robotic menace's plan: to place a heavy burden on Sonic to choose between two people to save; he chooses one, but the other perishes, leaving Metal Sonic to continue his plans more easily while Sonic rescues the girl he chooses.

At Elise's castle, she was busy filling out paperwork for taxes, legal issues, etc. passing the time while doing her job. She was distracted momentarily by the thoughts of a certain blue hedgehog that she swears she could've met before. Those thoughts were quickly interrupted when she heard screams coming from the throne room. Elise stood up and walked towards the door leading to the danger, only to feel a wet cloth covering her mouth and nose. Before she passed out, she saw a glint of metal on the hand holding the cloth.

Metal Sonic discarded the cloth in a nearby waste bin and grabbed the unconscious princess in his now free hand. Once his captives were securely under his arms, he took off for the bank of Soleanna. Once there, he walked up to the bank teller and said, "**I'm here for the scepter of darkness! I know it's here, so you'd better retrieve it if you want the princess to be safe.**" Noticing Princess Elise in the robotic menace's arms, the bank teller backed off towards the high-security vault that was only used to store life-changing items. The scepter in question was inside a glass case surrounded by red lasers. The glass container itself was actually made of diamond with titanium coating. It was called a glass container because the materials used were crystal clear*.

Moments later, the teller came out of the vault with the Scepter of Darkness in hand. The bank employee simply placed it on the desk waiting for the worst to happen. Metal Sonic extended the hand carrying Amy Rose, grabbed the scepter, then retracted it. With the three things in hand, Metal Sonic darted off towards the Ruins of Soleanna.

Ozone the Hedgehog saw what the robotic doppelganger did, and made a mad dash towards the ruins hoping to get there before the villain could. He knew one thing for sure: it was the most recent place known to hold the flames of Iblis. From the research done so far on Soleanna, he concluded one thing: Metal Sonic intends to recreate Solaris!

Seems like Metal Sonic is in for a HUGE surprise when he gets to the ruins. No one was able to control Solaris before, but what makes Metal Sonic believe he can? What do you think Ozone will do if the worst actually happens? The answer to all those: stay tuned.

*I know titanium isn't crystal clear in color, but Soleanna's scientists found a way to make it happen.


	12. Evil draws near

Disclaimer: I know this is getting repetitive, but it's to avoid lawsuits… _I don't own anything except my OC_!

Ozone made it through the ruins with ease and was surprised to see someone he didn't expect in a place so far away from civilization. "**It's been a while, eh Ozone? I'm guessing you're here for the Flames of Iblis?**" said the figure, who turned out to be none other than Eggman himself. "**What're you doing here, Eggman?**" the alien asked in surprise. "**I'm here to pick up on an old project of mine and see if I can do better than I did before.**" Ozone quickly recalled something Sonic told him a few days ago: Eggman's Solaris Prototype project!

While Eggman and Ozone were bickering, a crash was heard nearby. Eggman told Ozone to 'hold that thought' while he investigates the disturbance. A little while later, the fat man came back, but with a big grin on his face. "**Ozone, meet one of my 'pets' that I made before the Solaris incident, Kerebos.**" The evil doctor informed before a huge dog-shaped machine lunged out from behind some huge debris. It had an orange-colored 'rail' made of chaos energy on it's back, simple machine guns on it's shoulders, and it's body had something that Eggman called 'Unobtanium'* as armor for it's body and weapons. It also sported an unusual cannon in it's mouth that the doctor says shoots flames.

Ozone was a little intimidated by the robotic hound's appearance at first, but he shrugged the thought quickly. "**I've made some enhancements to Kerebos since I last used him and now I just need someone to help me test his capabilities.**" The fat man said with evil intentions. "**Lemme guess, I'm the guinea pig for your 'experiment'? I guess Sonic was right about you after all.**" Doctor Eggman then replied hastily, "**Not you! I'm getting a reading on my radar, and that thing that's headed here is the test subject. You're not even the subject of my plans yet, Ozone.**" The alien was taken aback by Eggman's intentions right there and took back his objections to the fat man. "**Actually, there **_**is**_** something you can do right now, Ozone. Stop whatever it is that's coming here while I retrieve what I'm here for. Don't worry, I'm not going to destroy this place. I still have some research to do here as well.**" Ozone acknowledged the doctor's plans and raced off to intercept the incoming anomaly.

Eggman searched the ruins for what seemed like hours until he finally found what he was looking for: the Flames of Iblis. The doctor smiled at his victory of finding one of the artifacts needed to recreate Solaris. He picked up the torch and shifted his Eggmobile into high-speed in the direction of Ozone and Kerebos. The alien in question shot a beam of energy at a blue object in the sky, knowing that it was the anomaly Eggman was referring to. Metal Sonic stopped in mid-air to assess the damage and readjust his plans. Once done, he looked down to face his attacker and yelled, "**Watch your aim, buddy. You nearly hit these ladies by attacking me!**" Ozone was about to shoot another sphere of yellow energy, until he heard what Metal Sonic said about ' these ladies' and held them like living shields and stopped his attack.

"**So you must be Metal Sonic. I've heard a great deal from Sonic about your deeds, but we'll save this discussion for later…**" Ozone started before flying up to challenge the metallic menace. Before either combatant could say anything, Ozone heard Eggman's voice a little ways from the ruins. Apparently, he heard the doctor say something about 'mission accomplished' and 'forget that scrap of metal and retreat'. That was enough to send Ozone floating down, before telling Metal Sonic, "**I'd love to battle, but I'm kinda busy right now. We'll have our battle some other day. By the way, you can call me 'Ozone the Hedgehog'**". With those words, the alien hovered down to land on Kerebos's back and hitch a ride to follow the evil doctor. Metal Sonic then muttered to himself, "**Another factor in the situation unexpectedly showed up. Not a big enough threat… yet.**" With that, he flew off for the ruins.

Sonic was racing around the various cities to pass some time while Knuckles was taking a nap in Tails's workshop. The workshop owner, on the other hand, was examining the blueprints for Ozone's space pod with the goal of creating a prototype copy of the space vessel. One of the major problems he faced was finding enough materials and with the specific properties needed to make the chassis for his prototype. He was stumped at the complexity of the space pod's design and how the parts are able to handle that well in a vacuum. The only thing Tails was able to recreate at the time was the security programs that the space-travelling vehicle had. The young mechanic decided to ask Ozone about the problems he had when he returns.

Amy was roaming around doing some shopping for 'cute' things that she thought would make her more attractive towards her favorite anthro. Her shopping was usually cut short whenever she spots Sonic somewhere, but she hasn't seen him since their date. Her thoughts on Sonic were quickly dissipated when she felt what seemed like mini-earthquakes that popped up consecutively a little bit after the first ones hit. Then she heard what sounded like _really heavy_ stomping coming from behind her. As she turned to look at what was happening, she saw Eggman fly above her going towards the south part of the metrolopic city. She knew _he_ can't make a sound like that or earthquakes that frequent, but her thoughts were interrupted the moment she saw a huge metallic hound following the evil doctor. "**Should've guessed it was him making that racket.**" With those words, she ran off towards Tails's workshop to tell the gang what she just saw with Eggman.

Vector, Charmy and Espio decided to search for the Emeralds by staying together this time. As they were searching a nearby desert area, they came across Station Square. Before they could take another step, Vector's cell phone started ringing. The croc answered it, only to be surprised that it was their client. "**We got a problem you guys. Eggman was just seen with a robot that looked like a huge hound racing across Centropolis. If that's not enough, Amy said that she saw Eggman carrying a chaos emerald while he was flying around. She said he was heading for Station Square.**" Vector said to his client, "**We just got there, boss. Leave the fat man to us and we'll get the chaos emerald from him in no time**."

Seems like Eggman is going to improve one of his old tricks, but why didn't he go after the Scepter of Darkness? What is Ozone thinking by working with Eggman? Only one thing to say: stay tuned for more.

* If you've ever seen the movie "The Core" where they have to fix the Earth's core and get the liquids flowing again, the scientist who went with the gang to fix the Earth said his vessel was made of something he called "Unobtanium". This is the reference I'm using for this story.

(P.S. the action is right around the block.)


	13. Plot thickens

Disclaimer: do I have anything to claim? Yes: my OC. I do not own SEGA Characters at all.

At Eggman's base, Shadow was practicing some new moves he was working on specially done for his upcoming battle with Sonic. His training session was interrupted when Eggman flew in with the Flames of Iblis. Shadow, upon spotting the torch, was surprised to see such an object. The ebony hedgehog tried to remember something that was related to the Iblis Flame, but nothing he thought of sparked any memories. "**Shadow, I want you to hold onto this until I retrieve the other artifact…**" The fat man told Shadow before handing him the torch. "**I can't take any risks retrieving both artifacts, so I need to get one at a time to be safe. I can't trust that Ozone guy just yet.**" The doctor concluded.

"**I get your plan, doc. Leave the Iblis Flame with me and I'll make sure that no one gets it.**" The black hedgehog told the evil genius. Eggman continued, "**I intend to use these artifacts so that I can have an alternate way for you to use Chaos Control. I know that one of Sonic's plans in battle is to separate you from a chaos emerald you might possess in battle. If he succeeds in taking your emerald, you can call upon the powers of Solaris to help you work your powers without an emerald.**" "**Sounds too good for me, Eggman. I know there's something you want from me**" Shadow said skeptically.

At that moment, Kerebos barged right in with Ozone standing on his back. "**Doctor Eggman, we've got a problem with your Solaris plan; Metal Sonic currently possesses the Scepter of Darkness!**" the alien informed Eggman. The fat man muttered curses under his breath at how his creation is _hindering_ his plans. Suddenly, the alarms started blaring with the computer systems mentioning an 'intruder alert' while red lights were flashing all around the dome-shaped building. Eggman rushed over to a nearby computer console to investigate the problem.

When Eggman pulled up the video monitor to find out who's trespassing, he was fuming mad when he saw the results. "**Damn it! It's Metal Sonic.**" He roared out loud. Upon closer inspection of the metallic menace, he didn't have the hostages he was carrying earlier, nor the scepter. "**Shadow, I want you to find where he hid the Scepter of Darkness. Ozone, I think it's show time for you. Confront that traitor and make him tell us where he hid that artifact.**" Both anthros nodded their head in acknowledgement and set off for their mission. Before they left, they were given a walkie-talkie so they can communicate with each other and Eggman on their progress.

Shadow raced towards the Soleanna Ruins thinking that Metal Sonic left it there since that was the last known place Ozone saw the metallic menace heading. Shadow didn't have a hard time navigating the ruins since the evil doctor was giving him directions. By the time he got there, he was surprised to see it. The ruins wasn't the way it used to be, but standing there now is a refurbished castle that the scholars of Soleanna recall used to be the castle that the rulers used to reside in. "**I think something in Metal Sonic's circuits must've blown a fuse to send him renovating an old ruin.**" Shadow mentally said to himself before entering the castle.

Ozone, however, waited outside the dome for the Metallic 'guest' to arrive. He was leaning with his back to the doors and eyes closed out of boredom. About 90 seconds later, he heard whirring sounds of the expected company. "**'bout time you showed up, Metal Sonic. Eggman was expecting you soon.**" Ozone said without any change in expression. Metal Sonic changed one of his hands into a machine gun and threatened, "**You will take me to him or else**". The alien simply motioned with his hand to follow him inside. After they were inside the dome, Ozone slammed the door behind the robotic doppelganger and locked it. "**No hard feelings, but Eggman ordered me to make you spill the beans on the Scepter of Darkness's whereabouts. If you don't cooperate, I'm afraid I'm going to have to shut you down. Don't get mad at me, I'm just following orders.**" The alien said before getting into a fighting stance.

"**Eggman's going to have to tell me where he hid the Flames of Iblis first before I tell him anything about the scepter.**" The metallic menace said before changing his left arm into a flamethrower, and his right arm still a machine gun. Next thing that happened was Metal Sonic charging at Ozone full speed with murderous intent. The alien, however, kept a calm face and stood his ground. Once Metal Sonic was about an inch close to impact with the alien, he punched the robot in the stomach area and pulled out a the violet-colored chaos emerald. The whole process happened in less than a second and faster than Eggman could track with his computer.

Surprisingly, the extraction of the chaos emerald left Metal Sonic unharmed. Ozone just side-stepped out of the metallic menace's way and the attacker tried to slow down. The attempt was unsuccessful and he crashed into the doors. The moment Metal Sonic pulled himself out of the doors, he was facing a palm, glowing with yellow destructive energy. "**Since I'm more forgiving than Eggman, I'll let you choose your fate; tell me where you hid the Scepter of Darkness and you'll live, or I can blow you up right now.**" The robot quickly calculated the odds of beating Ozone, and the results of what might happen if he complies with the alien's proposition. "**You are an unusual opponent, I'll give you that. I might as well comply knowing that I can't complete my goal if I'm destroyed.**"

As Shadow searched the castle, his communication device suddenly started beeping. Shadow answered it, and heard "**The Scepter of Darkness is in the dungeon of the castle you're in right now.**" "**Gotcha, headed there now.**" Was all that Shadow said in response before turning off his walkie-talkie. Unknown to Shadow was a dark figure following him throughout the castle.

Seems strange that Metal Sonic gave up so easily, eh? What does he have to gain by sharing information with Eggman about the Scepter of Darkness's whereabouts in the castle? Who is the dark figure who is now following Shadow? The only thing to do in the meantime is to stay tuned!

(P.S. I know the action in this chapter isn't all that exciting, but it's my first time writing a fic. I also needed to get some plot done.)

(P.P.S. If I get enough good reviews, I might post some spoilers for Chapter 15!)


	14. A small TIME change gone wrong

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but my OC.

Shadow easily navigated the castle with the help of Dr. Eggman's instructions, but had to quickly maneuver the maze leading to the dungeon since there were booby-traps almost everywhere. The ebony hedgehog was able to dodge the traps before they were triggered since Eggman scanned the castle before he sent Shadow there to retrieve the artifact. After what seemed like an hour and 103 miles later, the anthro finally found the Scepter of Darkness.

Just before Shadow could get a hold of the artifact, a dark-colored hand quickly snatched the scepter and floated back to it's owner. The ebony hedgehog turned around to face the thief and was surprised to see who it was. It was none other than Black Doom. "**Thank you for leading me to the Scepter of Darkness, Shadow. I'm not here to kill you yet!**" he said before bidding the anthro a farewell and floating upwards through the ceiling.

"**Shadow reporting; mission is a failure. Black Doom is back, and he stole the scepter right when I found it.**" Eggman heard over his computer. The fat man then grabbed the microphone for his dome and commanded, "**Ozone, forget Metal Sonic for now, we have a bigger problem: Black Doom is back, and he stole the Scepter of Darkness. Your mission right now is to retrieve it however way you can, I'll deal with Metal Sonic.**" When Ozone heard that, he told the metal doppelganger, "**Change in plans: I hope we can have a fair fight some other day. For now, I've gotta attend to business.**" With that, the alien unlocked the door and left the building.

Before Ozone could take off, he heard someone calling for him somewhere nearby. When he went to investigate, he found out that it was Team Chaotix. "**Boy, am I glad we found you. Tails wants your help back at the workshop; he said something about materials to make a prototype of your space vehicle**" said the leader of the team after meeting up with the anthro. Ozone simply replied, "**Tell him to wait, I've got business to deal with. Be sure to let him know that I've got word that Black Doom has been spotted near Soleanna. I'm headed there right now to intercept the evil alien, but I've also learned that he's got the Scepter of Darkness.**" The croc got out a little notebook and jotted down the things to remember to tell Tails. "**One more thing: I've also heard from Shadow that Black Doom has one of the Chaos Emeralds that Knuckles is after. Speaking of which, I found one of them and I plan on holding onto it until I retrieve the one Black Doom has. I've got a feeling that I won't be able to get his emerald without an emerald of my own to counter his skills.**" With those things written down, the Chaotix Team leader thanked Ozone for the information and ran off in search of his team.

Once the Chaotix Team regrouped at the Station Square Park, Vector told them everything he learned from the alien anthro from the sighting of Black Doom to the location of the two Chaos Emeralds. "**Whoah! This is **_**really**_** bad. We'd better hurry back to Tails and brief him on the situation pronto. This sounds more important than our current assignment.**" Exclaimed Espio.

"**WHAT!?**" Tails yelled when he heard the news. "**I'm afraid that Ozone is rather busy at the moment. He told me that himself. When I asked why, he told me the news on this Black Doom business and the Scepter of Darkness**" Vector concluded. Tails had a face that meant he's in a _real _had case of panic, then darted for the X-Tornado. "**Just find the last two chaos emeralds, leave Black Doom and that scepter to us.**" The young mechanic said before revving up the plane's engines. "**One more thing: Tell Knuckles everything you learned about this crisis once he gets back.**" Tails said before taking to the skies in search of Sonic.

Ozone arrived at the 'castle' just in time to see Black Doom floating out of the highest tower towards the sky. "**So that's Black Doom. I expected him to be more menacing, but he looks like a mutated hippie with an oversized head!**" the anthro muttered to himself before flying off in pursuit. Before long, his communication device started beeping with Shadow asking for support. "**I've got good news and bad news, Ozone**" the ebony hedgehog started over the walkie-talkie. He then said, "**The bad news is that Black Doom took the Scepter of Darkness; the good news is that he stole the fake Flames of Iblis that I carried. I'll explain later, but I need you to meet me outside this 'castle'.**"

Shadow met the yellow alien outside the castle as agreed, then was surprised to see that Ozone had a chaos emerald of his own. "**I've got an idea, Shadow. Let's combine our Chaos Emerald's powers to open a rift in time to prevent Black Doom's theft of the Scepter of Darkness.**" Ozone said with confidence. It didn't take long for Shadow to catch on Ozone's intentions, then concluded, "**I get ya, go back in time a little ways before Black Doom stole it and steal it before it gets stolen.**" "**I wonder if the stealing is from you **_**stealing**_** what I have in mind, but let's continue this nonsense later**" Ozone finished. Both anthros held their chaos emeralds close to each other, then shouted simultaneously, "**CHAOS CONTROL!**" A little while later, a white surge of chaos energy popped out of the two chaos emeralds, merged into one, floated above the gems, then enlarged itself and turned into a light shade of blue. Before long, there was a feeling in the atmosphere that felt like the air was being sucked into the rift. "**Let's go, Shadow.**" Ozone called out to the ebony anthro before jumping into the rift. Shadow remained silent for the moment, then jumped in after his comrade.

30 minutes ago, in the dungeon where the Scepter of Darkness was hidden, a surge of chaos energy suddenly showed up near the artifact and the two hedgehogs fell out of the rift. "**Here's the plan: you stay out of sight because any interference with you and the Shadow in this time may cause a time paradox. Since I wasn't here at the time, the same rule applies to me. I will create a barrier with my powers to shield the scepter from Black Doom while you confront the alien. One more thing: **_**Don't be seen by your self at all! If you do, the consequences will be fatal**_**!**" Shadow acknowledged Ozone's plan and ran straight for the spot where he first felt Black Doom's presence at the castle. Ozone, on the other hand, turned himself invisible and stretched out his hand for the Scepter of Darkness. He focused his powers into his hand to create a barrier that repels anyone except Shadow. His part of the plan is done.

Shadow, however, didn't have a hard time trailing himself without being seen. He already knew where he would turn and _when_, so that gave him a little advantage to knowing when to hide. He kept following himself for what seemed like a half-hour before feeling that same presence again when he was given the mission by Eggman. This time, he saw Black Doom's ghostly form on the floor slowly trailing the Shadow of the past.

Shadow took aim at the ghostly form, charged up some chaos energy in his palm, and fired it at Black Doom with precision aim. The chaos energy struck the alien with additional damage dealt since the attack hit the eyes. Black Doom turned around and saw Shadow staring the alien down with murderous intent. "**What!? How can you be there **_**and **_**here at the same time?**" he muttered in shock. Shadow simply replied, "**Skip the talk and get out of here.**" Black Doom didn't reply, but held up his right arm to summon some comets, then positioned them in a circle behind his back. Shadow saw this coming and started running in circles around Black Doom in attempt to confuse him. The alien _did_ keep an eye on Shadow, but adjusted the comets above his head in a halo-like fashion. Shadow noticed this, and put the rest of his chaos energy into his left hand, compressed it into a small orb, and shot it at the alien. Black Doom saw this, and the moment he saw the orb of chaos energy, he thrusted his hands downward as if to slam his hand on something, and the comets crashed down counter-clockwise. When the attack was over, Shadow was pinned to the ground under one of the comets. "**I'll deal with you some other time. Just wait until I'm finished with business here**" he said in triumph over his victory this time, but was _heavily_ damaged from the Shadow's last attack.

Shadow used whatever strength he had to lift the comet off of him and get the chaos emerald in his hand. He muttered "**Chaos Control**" and vanished into thin air. He reappeared next to the Scepter of Darkness and told Ozone of his failure. "**There's more… I didn't intend to kill him… I only planned… to weaken Black Doom… so that you can finish him off**" Shadow concluded with heavy panting between each important detail. Ozone told Shadow to rest for the duration of this mission while he handles Black Doom. Shadow nodded his head and took shelter behind one of the pillars so he can stay out of sight from his past self.

Black Doom tried to find the past Shadow and resume his stalking so that he can get his hands on the Scepter of Darkness, until he felt a blast of chaos energy hit his back. The alien turned around to see Ozone with orbs of chaos energy lined up in a circular pattern behind him. "**I'll give you two choices: get out of here, or I'll decimate you. The choice is yours**" The anthro threatened. "**I'll comply this time, but don't think I won't forget to kill you next time we meet!**" Black Doom vowed before floating upwards towards the ceiling and the sky.

Ozone suddenly remembered his 'barrier' and raced back towards the chamber with the scepter. Once there, stretched out his hand to cancel his force field surrounding the scepter. The moment the shield went down, Black Doom appeared out of the ceiling and summoned a comet down to shatter the scepter. Ozone didn't notice the comet until it was too late; the impact shattered the scepter and it's contents were floating around the room. Shadow came out from his hiding place to see what was happening, and the darkness that was contained inside the Scepter of Darkness flowed into Shadow's shadow. A little while later, the shadow 'separated' itself from Shadow and started to take on Shadow's form until it looked like an exact replica of Shadow the Hedgehog, but instead of a red stripe on his head, it was grey. "**About time I get out of that accursed object**" it spoke before floating up to face Black Doom. "**I was watching the ordeal from inside my 'prison'. I shall be your faithful servant for releasing me**" it continued before kneeling down in respect towards Black Doom. It then finished, "**You may call me Mephiles the Dark**" Black Doom gave a sinister laugh at an unexpected success in his mission, then took Mephiles with him upwards to the sky.

Ozone and Shadow looked at each other for a moment to assess what happened, then Shadow said, "**Looks like the danger **_**just**_** got worse**" Ozone got out a piece of parchment, wrote down something, and left it where the scepter once rested. Afterwards, the two anthros used their chaos emeralds to teleport themselves somewhere else to avoid the past Shadow's arrival. In the past Shadow's eyes, he was shocked to see what was there. He got out his communicator and told Eggman, "**Doctor Eggman, we have a problem. The Scepter of Darkness is already destroyed… hang on a moment. There's a note here.**" Once he read it, his face showed a look that meant armageddon is coming.

Uh, Oh! Mephiles has been released, and has joined Black Doom. What did Ozone write on the note? Where is Tails going? There is only one answer to those questions: Stay tuned for the next chapter.

(P.S. Wow! This is the longest chapter I've done so far!)

(P.S.S. Didn't get enough reviews for me to consider the Chapter 15 spoilers, sorry to those of you who reviewed in hopes of some spoilers... i needed 5 reviews in order for me to put up spoilers for the next chapter.)


	15. the SILVER lining

Disclaimer: don't own anything but my OC.

The past Shadow couldn't believe the sight before him when he saw the shattered artifact. What shocked him even further was what he read on the parchment. It read: "_Black Doom got here first. I tried to stop him, but failed miserably and he released Mephiles. Even worse, Mephiles __**joined**__ Black Doom in his plans to conquer the Earth. We tried to fix the future by preventing Black Doom from possessing the Scepter, but we arrived a little too late. I ask you, whoever is reading this, to pass this message on to everyone you trust to help us stop the evil. If Mephiles and Iblis merge as one, total annihilation awaits us all. If that's not bad enough, here's the outcome I believe would happen: since Mephiles is indebted to Black Doom for freeing him, he might give Solaris's Power of __**space**__ and __**time**__ to the Black Arms leader. If this were to happen, I fear that Shadow the Hedgehog of the past might be wiped out from existence, thus erasing his influence on the world. I hope this is enough to make sure something gets done about this because if it's ignored, the world and all it's inhabitants are doomed to extinction. The only thing I'm sure to prevent the worst from happening would be to make sure Iblis does not get anywhere near Mephiles. This is the one thing that I'm sure would prevent the worst from happening. For the sake of the world and time, please do whatever it takes to prevent this future from happening because it all started when Mephiles was released by Black Doom_."

"**Holy shit!**" Eggman yelled when the hedgehogs returned to the dome and showed him the note. "**Seems like whoever wrote the note really tried to fix the future but failed**" the fat man concluded. Before the evil doctor could say another word, he called out for bokkun to deliver a message to the sonic heroes. The moment the small robot flew in to record the message, he grabbed the mini-T.V. and disassembled it. Eggman's intention of taking apart the T.V. was simple: he was going to remove the bomb planted in each of the T.V.s he sends to the heroes. After a little while, Eggman re-assembled the television without the exploding feature.

At Tails's workshop, Sonic was about to have lunch with the gang, until he heard the doorbell ring. "**I'll get it**" Knuckles said with a little frustration. When he opened the door, he saw Bokkun hovering in place with a terrified expression in his eyes. "**Get lost you little creep! I don't feel like having an explosion in my face before lunch.**" Knuckles warned, cracking his namesakes. "**Doctor Eggman's message is too important to ignore. He modified this T.V. so that it doesn't explode when the message is delivered. He also says that he isn't making a challenge, but a… nevermind. Just watch!**" the little robot retorted before the echidna finally let the little guy in.

About five minutes later, everyone in the workshop gathered in front of Bokkun as he placed the television on a worktable. Sonic turned on the little T.V. and Eggman's face suddenly popped up. "**Sorry to disturb you at this time, but I just received a note left at the Ruins of Soleanna, found by Shadow while looking for the Scepter of Darkness, that explains the future. I'm afraid that even I am terrified of what it says, but I need your help on this dire matter. I know for a fact that the message is true because it was handwritten by someone who is not of this time-period, I will explain this later, who apparently wants us to help him fix the future through our time period. Long story short, the world will be erased from existence if something isn't done to stop Black Doom. I need everyone of you to meet me at Soleanna. From there, I will take you to my temporary base of operations where I will explain the whole situation. This is not a trick of mine because you all know I'm after world **_**domination**_**, not world destruction. I will explain everything when you get to Soleanna. I will meet you at the entrance to Princess Elise's castle. Two more things I need to mention to you. One: this is a matter of life-and-death through time distortions and this is **_**not**_** a situation you can ignore; it's one that determines the fate of the world and history itself. Two: this is a special T.V. that I modified to not explode when the message is sent. I did this to show you that this is a different situation. Until we meet, sayanora**".

When the message ended, everyone hid behind something to shield themselves from an explosion they anticipated. Everyone remained hidden for two minutes before Tails came out of hiding and checked the T.V. for an explosive. "**Eggman kept his word about the T.V. not being rigged with the usual explosives**" he said after inspecting the little television. Everyone gave a sigh of relief then came out of their hiding places. "**Guys, I think Eggman is serious if he made sure the television didn't explode and told us to meet him in a highly populated location. He's sure taking some big risks to meet us in person. I think it may be a trap, but we have to go regardless.**" Sonic announced before running off to Soleanna. The others raced after the blue blur, but Tails stayed behind to call the Chaotix Team and inform them about the change in situation. Once that was out of the way, the young mechanic shut down the workshop completely and flew off in pursuit of his friends.

At the entrance to Princess Elise's castle, Eggman was waiting for Sonic and co. to show up. While he was waiting, he was assembling some communication devices to aid his soon-to-be-allies in their jobs. He was interrupted when Ozone flew in carrying Amy and Princess Elise under his arms and said, "**When I heard about the note, I rushed to the 'ruins' to see if there was anything else around, and I found these ladies unconscious in a hidden room near the Scepter of Darkness's resting place.**" The moment the alien finished that statement, Sonic and the gang showed up. At first, Sonic couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Elise and Amy in his arms like that and yelled, "**I thought you liked peace, not corruption! What have you done, Ozone!?**" Ozone saw this coming and replied in a calm manner, "**Relax, Sonic, the situation you see is complicated. While I was scouting out the 'ruins' of Soleanna in the desert, I found these girls unconscious in a hidden room and brought them here to get some help.**" Ozone knew that if he told the gang that he was working with Eggman, they would consider him an outcast and an enemy, so he told that white lie.

"**Follow me, I'll take you to my temporary base**" said the fat man as he motioned for his 'guests' to follow him. The trip didn't take long because his 'base' was an abandoned warehouse at the port. When they were inside, the interior was renovated to look like it was brand new, but the one thing they noticed right away was this: none of the technology there had Eggman's face or symbol on them. "**I didn't have time to decorate like I usually do, but that was because of this emergency crisis.**" Eggman informed the group before seating everyone on some benches nearby. He cleared his throat, then turned on the overhead projector to help him explain the emergency and why he called them in.

Meanwhile, in another part of Soleanna, a hedgehog with what seemed like blue energy in the shape of a circle on the palms of his hands stood there staring at Eggman's 'base' wondering what he might be doing with Sonic and co. held his head down in puzzlement. Next to him was Blaze the Cat, but she put her hand on the hedgehog's back as if to comfort him and said, "**Silver, what's wrong?**" Silver responded, "**Nothing, just wondering where I've seen that blue hedgehog before. It's not important right now, but there's something familiar about him that I just can't quite figure out.**" With that, he suddenly jumped off the rooftop he was on and dashed for the blue blur's location with Blaze following close behind.

Seems like there's more at stake than the other chaos emeralds falling into the wrong hands now. What does Eggman want Sonic and co. to do to prevent the worst from happening? What happened to Metal Sonic? Will Sonic be able to tolerate Eggman long enough to hear him out? Find out in the next chapter.


	16. Fire and Ice Merry Christmas BTW

Disclaimer: *sigh* if it avoids legal troubles then I shouldn't complain… I don't own anything except my OC.

As Doctor Eggman cleared his throat to begin briefing on the current situation, he heard a *SLAM* coming from the entrance of his base. When he saw what made the commotion, he saw Silver and Blaze running in. Silver walked up to Sonic and said, "**I don't know why, but I get the feeling that we've already met. The funny thing is that we haven't met.**" The blue blur replied, "**Same here, but I'm busy right now. Can we discuss this later? There's a major crisis going on right now, and Eggman is about to tell us what's going on.**" Blaze told Silver, "**Silver, forget that for now, let's see if there's anything we can do to help them with their problem.**"

After Silver and Blaze were seated, Eggman began explaining the time crisis that's about to happen. He told them everything from what started the problem to the predicted outcomes to the possible 'worst case scenarios'. Everyone gasped at the 'worst case scenario' and began asking how to prevent it from happening. Eggman suggested, "**I would suggest that Princess Elise release Iblis and then seal the abomination in another vessel because I know Mephiles will go after her and try to release that magma freak. I know it sounds crazy…**" Before he could continue, everyone saw Amy and Princess Elise waking up. They were in front of the fat man lying unconscious in front of his 'desk'. "**Princess Elise!**" gasped everyone when she awakened. A little while later, Sonic rushed over to Amy to help her up once she was awake. Sonic decided to fill in the ladies on the details they missed while they were unconscious. Before Princess Elise could object, Sonic told her to hold that thought while Eggman finishes explaining his plan.

"**Where was I… Oh yeah! I know it sounds crazy, but the idea behind changing Iblis's vessel is to create a decoy to delay Mephiles from becoming more powerful. The problem with this plan is that we have to do it **_**very**_** quickly or else Black Doom notices Iblis's release. It may be risky, but I have confidence that you guys might pull it off.**" Eggman concluded before asking the audience for questions. Amy was the first one to point out a flaw by asking, "**Seems like a good idea, but **_**who**_** is going to be Iblis's new vessel? None of us besides Elise are of royal blood suitable for Iblis.**" Blaze then stood up and said, "**I was accepted by Iblis to be it's vessel before because my soul is already imbued with fire. It's also because the events that happened when we sealed Iblis only affected the ones on Earth when the crisis happened.***"

"**Uh, what's with the asterisk?**" asked Eggman. Blaze replied, "**I remember that during Silver's story during the event. I disappeared before anything else happened since I sent myself to my own dimension to prevent any further devastation from Iblis on Earth. I released that 'magma freak' on another planet in my dimension so that I can return to help my friends. Don't worry about Iblis in my dimension, he's on a planet that Mephiles can **_**never**_** get to since I made sure of it. That planet is also the home of one of Silver's mentors before he came to this dimension.**" Silver suddenly remembered who it was that the cat was referring to. "**Aw, man! I can't believe I forgot about him! Now I remember some of the training he gave me.**" Before he said another word, he motioned for everyone to follow him outside so he can demonstrate the things he just remembered.

Once everyone was outside, Silver stretched his arm out to the sea, concentrated some energy in his hands and blast it towards the ocean. In a matter of seconds, a huge chunk of water rose up out of the harbor in the shape of a sphere and hovered over Silver. The psychokinetic warrior raised his other hand and thrust it towards one of the nearby crane machines (the ones used to carry heavy crates onto the ships mind you) and the water from the 'sphere' raced towards the heavy machinery's supporting base and the metal parts snapped like a twig. Everyone was impressed by the display Silver showed, but he said there's more. He then used whatever remaining water he had left and thrust it towards the sky. Two seconds later, it began raining _heavily_. Silver placed some target dummies nearby and then put his right arm upwards, sent a little bit of his energy to the sky, and lightning struck the dummies with full force. After each dummy was torched, the next lightning strike hit the next dummy instead of Eggman's base. Eggman stared dumbfounded at the feat he was observing and was about to ask how it was possible, until Silver told him to wait since he had one more trick to show him. Silver used his powers to get some more water from the harbor and, this time, used his powers to freeze the liquid. Once it was a block of ice, he commanded whatever water was not frozen to shoot forward towards the sky and make a pattern. As the water was doing what it was commanded, he then thrust the icy part of the block to follow the water and freeze up it's trail.

A little while later, the ice froze up the water's trail and everyone, even Eggman but his jaw dropped like Wile E. Coyote when something unbelievable happened, when they saw the result. The icy trail in the sky was shaped like Blaze. This impressed everyone, but Blaze was charmed by the icy figure the most. Silver turned to his audience and told them "**My mentor taught me how to control the waters like this, but the only thing he told me about himself was that he preferred to be called 'K'. The only thing I remember about him right now was that he looked like a whale and wherever he goes he causes a rainstorm.**#" Blaze then spoke up, "**Silver and I were trained by different mentors, but met when our teachers told us to eliminate each other's mentors. I won't get into the details, but that's what happened as far as I remember as well. Here's a bit about what **_**my**_** mentor taught me about his powers**." Silver and Blaze swapped places in terms of audience and entertainer, and held her hand towards the ground.

A _huge_ chunk of the earth about the size of an airplane hangar rose out of the ground and landed next to the pyrokinetic feline. She then 'commanded' some of the earth to float in front of her while she gathered some flames in her free hand. Blaze then threw the fireball at the floating chunk of earth and it melted into lava. Eggman was somewhat impressed at how Blaze was able to make the earth chunk float _and_ use her fiery skills at the same time, but he was more impressed at what she did next. Blaze 'gathered' some sunlight from the evening sun and shot a beam of green energy at the huge chunk of earth. She expertly fired the beam at the earth to form a statue of what seemed like an anthro of some sort, Silver was the first to notice it's features and continued watching. After 'carving' the earth into her desired liking, she 'grabbed' the lava she made earlier to add some last details onto her monument. Once she was done, she informed the group, "**My mentor caused a huge heat wave wherever he went, and it was like being in a desert (in earth talk) but with stronger heat from the sun. My mentor looked like a spiky armadillo, red in color, and went by the name of 'G'.#**" Everyone stood there staring at the statue in awe and wondered how she managed to pull it off so easily, but Silver was the one who was most enticed by the figure because it looked like an exact replica of himself. Blaze then added, "**That's just some things he taught me about the power of earth and the sun's light. I just used my imagination at how I could use it for demonstration**". Eggman took in those supernatural wonders to his list of factors, and found out that Blaze will have to do for Iblis's new vessel.

Amy ruined the moment by saying, "**Is this a demonstration, or is it some way to show off for each other?**" that threw Silver and Blaze off completely, and they denied Amy's accusation. Deep down inside both of them was the feeling for each other. Silver was the first to retaliate by saying, "**I didn't know if Blaze remembered her mentor or not, so I thought I might as well try something to refresh her memory, and at the same time demonstrate my mentor's training**". Blaze said a similar statement, but the 'refresh her memory' section Silver said was replaced by nothing between us but merely showing how fascinated I was of Silver's demonstration and did something equally impressive. Amy just told them to forget what she said and should return to Eggman's plans.

Before long, Sonic spotted something out of the ordinary near the statue's base. When he went to check it out, he saw that the object was a gray bracelet with a green egg-shaped jewel adorned on the larger part of the bracelet. Seeing this, he suddenly remembered a certain chocolate-loving friend he once had. The moment he remembered his pal, he also remembered one of it's powers that helped him save the world from Dark Gaia.

Blaze and Silver have officially arrived and are helping Sonic and company with their unbelievable powers they suddenly remembered from their training. Looks like Sonic found a certain little dog's necklace (at least to that little dog) and remembered an old pal. What do you think Eggman has planned once Iblis is sealed into it's new vessel? The answer to all those questions and more is simple: stay tuned for more in the next chapter.

# So, do you know who their mentor is? If not, go play some other games or ask around to find out who they are. One thing I will tell ya about them is this: they are opposites of each other, but take great advantage of their respective weathers. If you still don't know who they are, then you haven't played another favorite game of mine.

(P.S. Merry Christmas people!)

(P.P.S. Sneak peek at next chapter if I get enough good reviews)


	17. Release and Reseal

Disclaimer: if I owned anything I'd tell ya about it, but since I don't own anything but my OC, I might as well say it again… I don't own anything but my OC. Sonic and characters belong to SEGA (Except my OC of course ((OC Of Course, lol)) joke is on OC and Of Course and Original Character)

"**Hey Sonic, what did you find?**" Amy asked noticing Sonic picking up the bracelet. The blue blur snapped out of memory lane and replied, "**Something that one of my friends used to wear. The only thing about him that I remember right now is that he loved sweets.**" Amy comforted Sonic and said, "**Not to sound rude, but can we worry about this later? We need to prevent the crisis that will unfold in the future.**" Ozone noticed the two hedgehogs near the statue and walked up to Sonic and asked, "**Hey Sonic, may I see that bracelet? I think I might know something about it.**"

Sonic handed the bracelet over to the alien and Ozone began inspecting it thoroughly. "**Just as I thought!**" he exclaimed. Sonic began asking about it, then Ozone explained, "**It's an ancient bracelet that lets the wearer harness the powers of Gaia for a vast number of uses.**" The alien slipped the bracelet on his left wrist and continued, "**Let me demonstrate one use of this thing.**" He focused some thought into the bracelet as if to ask it to generate a shield, and sure enough, a green barrier of energy surrounded Ozone. That barrier was enough to distract _everyone_ who was busy with the future's problems. Eggman then yelled, "**Can we focus, please!? The one who sent us this note obviously wants us to change their future.**" Everyone who was admiring the green shield snapped back to reality and seated themselves to hear out their part of Eggman's plan to _save_ the future.

"**Ozone, do you know any way to bring someone or something back to life once they die?**" Eggman inquired the alien. Ozone replied, "**Yeah, but I know of two ways… one is through the chaos emeralds, the other is a tactic that I prefer not to use because it requires a **_**lot**_** of my energy. Why do you ask, Doctor?**" The fat man motioned for Ozone to follow him to a quieter place, and Ozone did so without a second thought. Once they were alone, Eggman explained, "**Normally I'd be glad to do this, but the fate of the world is more important than my self-glory. Here's the reason, I know that Princess Elise won't cry if we asked her to…**" "**I'm not killing anyone to make her cry!**" Ozone interrupted. Eggman became irritated and responded, "**Listen, the reason I need her to cry is so that we can release Iblis from within her.**" Ozone then realized the intention of making her cry, but then said he wasn't going to kill her to make that happen. Eggman face-palmed in frustration and told him that he'll call the alien when he needs to revive someone, saying that it'll save them both some frustration and time. Ozone nodded his head in agreement, and they both returned to the crowd.

After Eggman explained his plan, everyone except Elise cheered for a hopeful success. Amy asked Elise why she isn't happy or enthusiastic about the plan, but Elise simply replied, "**I will not cry for any reason**" Eggman somehow saw this coming and called everyone but Elise in a 'huddle'. That went well, and the fat man began explaining how to make it happen. The plan was perfect, until Knuckles pointed out a factor that Eggman completely overlooked; how Ozone was going to revive everyone if he doesn't have a power source strong enough to resurrect them once dead. He then remembered the master emerald he stored in his shoe and brought it out to show Ozone. The alien said it _would_ be sufficient if it's powers were double it's current strength and said that it would take two of them if he was going to revive everyone in Soleanna in a timely fashion. Sonic refused to take part of the plan any further once he heard that part of the plan. "**I'm not about to kill people to make Elise cry so that you can bring them back to life once Iblis is released. Future or no future, I'm not about to hurt innocent lives.**" He objected before leaving the 'huddle'.

"**We may not even need to hurt people or do anything destructive!**" Ozone exclaimed with an idea in mind. Knuckles, once hearing that, put away the master emerald back in his shoe and returned his attention to the discussion. Eggman took in what Ozone said, and came to the same conclusion: Onions. Sonic overheard the new plan and objected, "**We're gonna make her cry by cooking an Onion dish!? You're crazy.**" Knuckles face-palmed and told the blue blur what they were going to do with the onions, and Sonic caught on after a while.

Princess Elise was wondering what the gang were up to when they finally broke the huddle and walked over to her. Eggman asked the princess if she knows how to make an onion dish. She replied 'yes' and figured the group was hungry. Blaze and Silver got to work using their powers to make some pots and pans out of the earth with Blaze shaping the mold and heating them 'till they're ready to be cooled, and Silver was doing the quick cooling with the aquatic abilities to finish the cooking utensils. After a good minute of making the necessary things needed to cook, Sonic sped into town with a fair number of rings in hand to buy a bag of onions. A minute later, he came back with the ingredient in hand.

Before Elise could start the cooking with the onions, she started crying due to the onion's chemicals. That sparked the release of Iblis. The moment the teardrop hit the ground, the soil started heating up at an alarming pace. "**What the…?**" Princess Elise muttered before realizing what happened. The ground eventually heated up so much that the ground started to make a hole. Sure enough, Iblis came flying out of the hole once it was large enough.

"**Everyone, begin part one of the plan, **_**NOW**_**!**" Eggman yelled as if he was a commanding officer. Knuckles immediately brought out the master emerald from his shoe and enlarged it to normal size. Once done, he gave a 'thumbs up' to the attacking team. The 'attacking team' consisted of Sonic, Amy, Vector, Espio, Shadow, and Ozone. Silver's part of the job was to prepare the sealing technique necessary to re-seal Iblis into Blaze.

Sonic and Amy planned to use the 'pinball launcher' tactic where the blue blur curls up into a ball, spins rapidly, then Amy smacks the 'pinball' with her hammer at full force straight into Iblis's torso. The technique proved semi-effective as it knocked the lava golem back a foot, but Sonic came back slightly singed from the assault. Vector and Espio tried to do an unusual trick where the croc simply 'distracts' the fiery freak while the chameleon applied extreme-heat-proof needles onto places where he thought the pressure points were, but that tactic proved useless as the needles were 'absorbed' into the fiery menace. Shadow gathered chaos energy into the palms of his hands while Ozone amplified his powers and sent them into the bracelet. "**Chaos…**" Shadow muttered while drawing back his right arm as if to strike back, then finished by thrusting his arm forward, propelling the energy straight at it's target. As he finished thrusting his arm, he finished with a "**…Spear!**" The attack itself ruthless, but Iblis remained unfazed by the assault. Ozone said, "**Keep Iblis busy, I've got an idea.**" Shadow nodded his head in acknowledgement and motioned for everyone in the 'attack team' to go for an all-out assault.

The team assault worked quite well wearing down the lava golem. That is, until Iblis pulled off an attack that made even Shadow flinch in total shock. Everyone stopped attacking and regrouped with the ebony hedgehog to see what made him stop attacking. When they caught on to what he was seeing, Iblis made the same movements as Shadow did when he performed the chaos spear attack, but Iblis shot out what seemed like spears of lava. Sonic was then surprised what happened immediately after the lava spears were shot: Iblis stretched his left arm, aimed it at the group and fired balls of magma at the same speed as Sonic's 'pinball launcher' but with more spheres than the blue blur could count, and that was enough to send the team fleeing. They couldn't make it back to Eggman, Silver, or even Blaze because the ground cracked open spewing out a 'wall' of lava trapping the team inside an 'arena'. Ozone finally gathered enough energy and told everyone to gather around him immediately. Without any other ideas, the gang did so. The alien released the energy he stored into the bracelet and it generated a force field around each individual that, upon first glance, covered the individual's outline.

"**Alright, I've gathered enough energy to make us all heat-proof for a half-hour. This also shields us from the lava. We've got to weaken Iblis down so that we can seal him inside Blaze. If we seal him now, Blaze might die trying to seal the freak. We've only got the limited time to weaken him and get this done before Mephiles notices that Iblis is released.**" Ozone explained before rushing in to try his luck at bringing the beast down. He shot numerous chaos spheres at Iblis non-stop. Knuckles overheard the whole ordeal and commanded the master emerald to give some of it's powers to Ozone to aid him in the assault. "**Everyone, don't just stand there, attack!**" the alien yelled while firing the chaos spheres. Soon enough, they were all attacking simultaneously. Iblis started flailing its arms wildly in desperation for a good five minutes before its body went limp and fell unconscious.

Once the beast went down, the wall of magma died down allowing the team to regroup with Eggman. Silver started chanting some incantations that was used to seal Iblis a long time ago, and Blaze walked up to the lava freak. Knuckles then 'told' the master emerald to help Silver seal Iblis into it's new vessel. The master emerald then shot a beam at the pyrokinetic feline and the 'Flames of Disaster: Iblis' was absorbed into Blaze. Eggman jumped in excitement seeing as how the plan worked perfectly. "**Princess Elise, sorry to do that, but it was necessary if we are to prevent the disaster that is going to happen. We had to do it because Blaze doesn't cry at all… and the requirement for Iblis to be released from its vessel is for it to shed a tear.**" Eggman began explaining, but Elise caught on quickly. "**I knew the plan, but just couldn't think of anything to make me cry. I caught on once you got the onions for me to slice. It's okay now. At least now I know that if I get kidnapped, the bad guys are going to get a decoy. The only thing is that **_**if**_** that happens, we need to make it look as if the worst is going to happen.**" Princess Elise said, then continued, "**I thought you were crazy at first, but when I realized it, I went along with your plan without a word knowing that it will save time**."

Now that Iblis is in it's new vessel, what will Mephiles do once he finds out? What will Black Doom do soon? What happened to Metal Sonic? Just stay tuned and you may find out soon enough.


	18. Return of the Werehog

Disclaimer: only own my OC, nothing else.

It was becoming dark and the gang completed the first part of the plan to save the future. Just as Sonic and co. were about to return to Eggman's base, they all heard howling coming from Ozone. Eggman was the first to look at what was up, and what he saw astonished him immensely. The alien crossed his arms over his stomach area as if in pain, dropped down to his knees, and the strangest thing happened to him. His golden yellow fur suddenly turned a dark shade of purple, his hands enlarged themselves a bit so that they literally ripped off the gloves. His feet also enlarged, but so did the shoes. His teeth grew a little longer than it was and became sharper than daggers. When the transformation was complete, Eggman stood there dumbfounded at the creature before him.

Sonic and the others looked in shock to see Ozone in his new appearance, and ran inside the base. Once Ozone came to his senses, he noticed that the place was deserted and figured that he'll wait for them inside Eggman's base until something happens. Once he was inside, he saw a pair of eerie red eyes lurking near the middle of the base. "**Who are you?**" it said emotionlessly. "**Nice to see you again, Metal Sonic**" Ozone replied. When Ozone heard himself talking like that, he jumped back in surprise over his new voice. Metal Sonic took a moment to analyze the creature before coming to the conclusion that it really is Ozone the Hedgehog. "**Normally I wouldn't care who it is that I'm up against, but I need to clarify my analysis of you. Are you really Ozone the Hedgehog?**" The robotic menace asked. Ozone was ticked that Metal Sonic didn't recognize him at first, then yelled, "**Of course it's me! Are ya blind?**"

"**Negative. I can see perfectly fine, but last time we met, you were a hedgehog.**" Metal Sonic snapped back, which caused Ozone to yell, "**I **_**am**_** a hedgehog ya moving toaster**" "**Not from **_**my**_** point of view. We can argue over what you are, but here's the fact: You are not what you say you are. If you don't believe me, take a look in a mirror.**" Ozone heard that, and didn't find a mirror nearby. What Ozone did next surprised the robotic menace. He walked over to Metal Sonic and glanced at himself with the reflecting image on the chrome-covered body.

When the alien saw what Metal Sonic was talking about, he jumped back about five feet in shock. "**Was that what I really look like!?**" Ozone yelled in surprise. "**I told you. I came by to let you know something: I just saw Black Doom going around town stealing herbs and spices**" Metal Sonic said calmly. Ozone laughed at the thought of Black Doom conquering the world with his horrible cooking. "**This is not a joke. I gathered data on the things he stole, and found out that the herbs and spices he stole are ingredients needed to make a special kind of potion. The potion that he's trying to make prevents it's victims from using chaos energy of any kind for a full 24 hours. I believe he's planning to make his final move the moment he uses that potion of you, Shadow, Silver, and Sonic.**"

While the gang were hiding in the shadows of the base, Eggman stepped out of hiding and added his thoughts about Black Doom's intentions. Ozone was a bit surprised to find Eggman walking in to their conversation unexpectedly, but shrugged the idea to plan with the fat man. "**Doctor Eggman, I don't trust this robot, but he claims that I'm not a hedgehog, and I checked myself with the chrome body of his. Is what he said true?**" Ozone asked. Eggman replied, "**I'm afraid he's right. You aren't a hedgehog. He wasn't pulling any tricks or traps.**" Metal Sonic added, "**Based on my analysis so far, you are a were-hog. In other words, you have DNA of a werewolf and a hedgehog right now.**" Ozone then finished, "**I think this…thing… happened when the sun went down.**"

"**I remember this little problem years ago during the Dark Gaia incident**" Eggman said. "**Cut the chat, something's coming**" Metal Sonic interrupted before taking a fighting stance at the base's door. Before long, the three heard banging noises and the door started shaking in synch with each bang. Just then, Sonic and co. came out of their hiding spots to join Ozone in defending Eggman's base. "**I knew you were hiding, but I felt that dealing with Eggman was more important at the time. Now then, shall we give the intruders a welcoming party?**" the gang agreed unanimously.

Ozone said, "**Chaotix Team, I don't need you guys to fight, but rather find the remaining chaos emeralds. From what I understand, there are two left.**" Shadow interrupted by saying, "**I guess that means that I have the sixth in my possession.**" Ozone took notice at Shadow's remark, then said, "**O.K. I need you guys to look for the last chaos emerald. If my hunch is correct, try looking for Black Doom; he probably has one.**" With those words, the Chaotix Team fled the base in search of Black Doom. "**Now to see the party crashers.**" Ozone smirked with evil intent. At that moment, the door flew out of it's place and landed on the ground next to Ozone. "**Sonic, Amy, Shadow, and Knuckles… take the left flank. Metal Sonic, Tails, Eggman, and Blaze… the right flank. Silver… watch my back.**" Everyone was a little hesitant to go with Ozone's attack plan, but Eggman told them to just to it… he says that he thinks Ozone's attack formation seems to be the most effective in a small place. Without another word, they all took their positions.

When the intruders came in, Sonic immediately recognized the bunch. They appeared to be oversized chameleons with a purple aura surrounding every piece of it's matter. The battalion in front of them, however, looked like purple, green, and blue balls floating in mid-air. Behind the chameleon shadows were the things Sonic hoped he'd never see again: the dark giants.

Shorter chapter than normal… story starting to get to good parts, but still the plot is still developing. Now that Metal Sonic is back in action, what happened to Rouge? What caused the Dark creatures to come back? What powers will Ozone discover in his new form? Stay tuned and you'll find out!

BTW, here's a paragraph from the next chapter as a sneak peek to commemorate the NEW YEAR!

_The dark freaks suddenly lunged at our heroes (and villain(s)). Ozone stretched his arm like he was going to shoot an energy ball. The next thing that happened surprised Ozone: his arm stretched out further than he anticipated and the hand literally grabbed one of the shadowy intruders by the neck. "**That's new… Didn't see that coming.**" Ozone replied with a bead of sweat flowing down the back of his head. He then shrugged the illogical incident of his and put the unusual ability to work._

Not much... but it's still something.


	19. dark freaks begone!

Disclaimer: nothing in this story is mine except for my OC

The dark freaks suddenly lunged at our heroes (and villain(s)). Ozone stretched his arm like he was going to shoot an energy ball. The next thing that happened surprised Ozone: his arm stretched out further than he anticipated and the hand literally grabbed one of the shadowy intruders by the neck. "**That's new… Didn't see that coming.**" Ozone replied with a bead of sweat flowing down the back of his head. He then shrugged the illogical incident of his and put the unusual ability to work.

Everyone was too busy battling their flanks to notice Ozone's little dilemma, and what yelled next really got their attention. "**Everyone: get out of here… I've got a nasty plan for these freaks. If you don't want to get caught in this **_**really**_** nasty attack, then I suggest you guys leave the building.**" Everyone, except Shadow, did as ordered and fled the base. "**What little tactic do you think you're going to do, huh?**" the ebony hedgehog snapped back. "**I will explain later, but I guess you can help me prepare… round up as many of these bastards near the center of the base, then seal them in. Just make sure to leave **_**one**_** entrance so I can clear them out with a single run**" Ozone replied with a pinch on insanity in his voice. Shadow didn't even bother asking any further questions and started to get _every_ one of the dark creatures' attention, well just the ones outside the base. "_Eggman's not gonna like what I have in mind, but it is the most effective way to deal with them_" Ozone thought to himself.

After what seemed like five minutes, Shadow held up his chaos emerald and generated a force field around Eggman's base. "**All right, Ozone. If you die, Don't expect me to bring you back to life. It's your funeral.**" The ebony hedgehog remarked. Ozone didn't pay attention to Shadow's taunt and forced himself inside Shadow's barrier. Once inside, all the dark creatures tried to dogpile the were-hog, but he simply ran towards the center of Eggman's base. "_Sorry Eggman, but this needs to be done._"

Shadow rejoined the gang at a nearby hill. "**Eggman, you're probably not going to like Ozone's plan. He intends to go berserk, destroying your base in the process**" Shadow informed the fat man before sitting down near his blue counterpart. "**My, my, my… what's going on boys and girls?**" said an unusually familiar voice. The one who said that dropped out of the tree, but was hanging upside down on a branch. The intruder turned out to be none other than Rouge. "**Just watch, Rouge. Ozone plans to take out all those dark creatures by himself… but also destroying Eggman's base in the process**" Shadow informed the jewel-loving bat before turning his attention back to the carnage that was about to unfold.

Once Ozone was in the center of the base, he stretched out both of his arms and spun wildly. The unusual tactic, in Ozone's eyes, was not to take out the group, but to gather them up. The moment the arms made contact with the shadowy freaks, they were stuck on the ravaging alien's arms. Those that managed to avoid the arms were not as lucky as they hoped because the arms did two things. First was to gather up as many of them onto his arms, second was to create a tornado that will scoop up the rest that managed to avoid the arms.

Eggman couldn't quite see what was happening, so he twisted the spectacles of his glasses, right lens to be specific. When he saw Ozone work his stuff, he was startled by the alien's efficient tactic, then told Shadow to lower the force field now. The ebony hedgehog did just that, and continued watching Ozone's wrath.

Once the majority of the dark creatures were airborne, he quickly electrocuted his arms to add the element of electricity into the hurricane he made. He did that with just his left arm. Ozone wasn't about to stop there because he then charged up his right arm with fire-induced energy. The result was a column of fire in the area with a shocking aftermath (No pun intended) for the survivors. The small fry creatures disintegrated piece by piece into the shadows once defeated, but the dark giants seemed unfazed by the attack.

Eggman was explaining to the group what he was seeing Ozone do (not his attacks since they can see the attack from the hill) and telling the group how much energy he expended just performing the assault. The result was simple: Ozone used 1% of his energy to pull off the feat. This made Shadow somewhat jealous at the alien, and jumped toward Eggman. He grabbed the glasses to make sure Eggman wasn't saying that in favorism. "**Hey, give those back Shadow!**" the fat man yelled at the ebony hedgehog. Shadow merely ignored Eggman and checked the energy readings of Ozone, and when he saw the results for himself, he stood there like he was paralyzed. While under his 'paralysis', Eggman snatched his spectacles out of Shadow's hands. Once the glasses were back in its owner's possession, he resumed informing the gang about Ozone's status, intentions, and whatnot.

After the column of fire attack was over, Ozone turned around to see who was still alive, and wasn't surprised to see that the giants still standing. "**Typical… the big ones can take the hit, no matter how strong the attack and **_**still**_** fight.**" He muttered to himself before charging straight at the survivors. The ones closest to the alien thrust down their clubs to hit Ozone, but he simply side-stepped the attacks, then jumped up towards his assailants.

Before he could stretch his arms to strike the giants in the face, a sudden heat wave flowed through the area and the dark giants vanished, _all of them_. "**What's happening?**" Ozone yelled. "_**Sonic! It's been a while. Remember me?**_" a voice rang in the were-hog's head. When Ozone looked up, he saw something that he thought was beautiful to look at. "**Uh, I think you've got me mixed up with some other were-hog.**" Ozone replied to the entity. The one who called Ozone 'Sonic' turned out to be none other than a golden-yellow phoenix with a few very long tails#.

Looks like a new visitor came by and wiped the dark giants out with a heat wave. Who is this phoenix? Why did it come back? What happened to Metal Sonic? The answer to those questions remains the same as the previous chapters: stay tuned for the next episode!

(# It is _**NOT**_ Ho-oh)

Update: writer's worst fear is catching up with me quickly, and very early! If you got an idea for the story, let me know. If it's well thought out, i might put it in!


	20. Phoenix and plans

Disclaimer: don't own anything in this story except my OC.

The phoenix telepathically asked the were-hog, "**Huh? I'm certain that you were Sonic because I recognize that green gem on your wrist. I've seen it on Sonic's friend.**" Ozone was taken aback when he heard that, and the phoenix continued, "**His friend wore that. I remember it because he was the one who gave me chocolate when I attacked him while under Dark Gaia's control.**"

Sonic and the gang were staring at the scenario in awe at the sight of the beautiful fire bird. Sonic was the most surprised because the moment he saw it, he remembered fighting it during his quest to put the planet back together again, literally. "**Gaia Phoenix!?***" The blue blur asked out loud. "**You know this beast, Sonic?**" Eggman asked. Sonic gave Eggman an emotionless look and told him the story of the encounter he had with the phoenix.

"**I hate to break this to you, but Sonic is over there…**" Ozone started, pointing at Sonic and co. on the hill, "**I think you should check in with that hedgehog… he's the Sonic you're looking for. By the way, I'm Ozone.**" The ancient bird 'bowed it's head' as if to respect another and telepathically said, "**Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ozone. You may call me the Gaia Phoenix.**" "**Sorry to be rude, but let's skip the formalities. Why did you come here?**"

Sonic finished his story, and Eggman nodded his head with interest. "**Funny thing though… Before the Gaia Phoenix flew off, my travelling companion gave him a piece of chocolate.**" Sonic concluded before spotting Shadow running towards Ozone. "**SHADOW, WAIT!**" The blue blur yelled to his darker counterpart, but the ebony hedgehog was way out of earshot before Sonic could yell.

"**Ozone, is this oversized chicken our enemy?**" Shadow asked out loud, preparing chaos energy in his hands. "**OVERSIZED CHICKEN!? HOW RUDE!**" the Gaia Phoenix telepathically yelled, but Ozone interrupted, "**Sorry about him, he's got a major attitude problem. He thinks you're one of the bad guys.**" The fiery bird calmed down a bit, and took in the last bit of information, then said, "**Can you just tell Sonic that Dark Gaia has been released again? I managed to gather this bit of information before looking for Sonic: the one who released Dark Gaia is a black alien with three eyes, and it was accompanied by a black hedgehog that looked like your friend.**" Once Shadow and Ozone heard what the phoenix told them, their faces turned from serious to pure horror… "**Black Doom and Mephiles!**" They both shouted simultaneously.

"**Just tell Sonic that, and that I also said 'hi'.**" With that, the Gaia Phoenix took to the skies to head back to it's home. Both anthros quickly ran back to Sonic and the gang to tell them what they learned. _Everyone_ gave the same expression that Shadow and Ozone had. "**Apparently, Black Doom has been busy lately, and Mephiles must be looking for the Gaia Temples to destroy them so that we won't be able to fix the planet like last time.**" Eggman started, then concluded "**Seems like the worst has yet to come. I'll have my robots scout Black Doom and Mephiles's movements in the mean time. For now, we need to secure those Gaia Temples and protect them from Mephiles or Black Doom.**"

"**Uh, Eggman, the temples combined to form the Gaia Colossus when I went to battle Dark Gaia. My friend somehow used the power of his bracelet to summon the temples and the chaos emeralds to the location of our battle…**" Sonic started, but Ozone interrupted, "**Hate to interrupt you, Sonic, but your 'friend' was 'Chip', a little Chihuahua with wings. Remember him now?**" Sonic heard Ozone's remark, and suddenly remembered _everything_ that happened during the Dark Gaia incident, including his little friend. "**Thanks, Ozone, for helping me remember that friend I had.**" Ozone simply nodded, then the blue blur continued, "**…location of our battle. Right now, the temples are with Chip, so we don't need to worry about them for now.**" With that, Eggman breathed a sigh of relief.

The moment Sonic finished that sentence, the sun started to come out. When the sunlight hit Ozone, he yelled out loud as if in extreme pain. Everyone stepped back, giving the were-hog some space. The sunlight seemed to affect the dark-colored fur of Ozone and it started to 'evaporate' at a rapid pace, as if giving off a really powerful aura. The next thing that happened made Sonic remember the curse of his were-hog days: Ozone's fangs started to shrink back to normal size, so did his shoes and hands. The dark fur reverted back to it's original yellow color. Ozone then looked at his hands, and was shocked to see that the crimson-red gloves that he used to wear just materialized back on his hands. "**Didn't see that coming.**" Ozone muttered to himself after seeing the gloves back on his hands.

Rouge was a little scared when she saw Ozone's transformation, but forgot about it when she remembered why she came back to see Shadow. "**I almost forgot to tell you, Shadow**" The hedgehog in question turned to face the jewel-obsessed bat and listened. Before she got started, she reached into her pockets and brought out something that made everyone gasp in shock. "**I saw Black Doom in possession of this, and **_**knew**_** it meant trouble**" The object she showed everyone was, in fact, the brown chaos emerald. Ozone was the first to ask, "**How'd you sneak it from Black Doom!?**" Rough chuckled and said, "**I trailed him for a while. While he wasn't looking at the emerald, I did some pick-pocketing and got a hold of it. I was more than lucky because he didn't even know I was there**." Ozone smiled as if he had a nasty plan when Rouge told them that, and he said, "**Rouge, I think I know one particular role you could play in our plan to stop Black Doom and Mephiles.**"

Dark Gaia has officially been released, and it's fortunate that Rouge stole the chaos emerald from Black Doom without being spotted or noticed. What role does Ozone have in mind for Rouge to do for the team? What is Black Doom going to do next? What is Mephiles up to? The answer is still the same: stay tuned for the next chapter!


	21. The Problems

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything in this story… except my OC.

"**You want me to what!?**" Rouge yelled. "**Yeah, I need you to steal any chaos emeralds that Black Doom or Mephiles may have if we have reason to believe that he may possess them.**" Ozone explained. Rouge considered the plan for a moment, before getting another idea in her head. "**Here's something else to consider: I'll pay you 10 gems, fresh from the mountains, for every chaos emerald stolen from Black Doom and Mephiles. There's a catch: if I find out that you stole them and brought them back in hopes of easy cash. Also: if you hand them over to Black Doom or Mephiles, you will jeopardize the world.**"

Rouge was shocked when she thought of the consequences, she also figured out that if the world is destroyed then there won't be any jewels left for her. "**I guess now I realize the severity of the situation.**" With that, she devoted her trust to Ozone. "**Ok, here's what I need you to do, keep an eye on Black Doom and/or Mephiles. If you see either of them, follow them and find out what they're up to without being caught. When you think you know what they might be up to, report back ASAP.**" Ozone explained. "**You have my trust.**" The jewel-obsessed bat replied before flying off to find the dark devils.

Espio, Vector, and Charmy suddenly ran in like there's an emergency, with Charmy out of breath. "**You're not… gonna… believe this…there's a… really weird… ring… at the… lava reefs**" The young bee panted. Espio chimed in, "**We tried to retrieve it, but it's **_**really**_** well guarded that even I can't get close to it.**" Sonic eavesdropped on them and offered, "**…and I suppose you want me to try and retrieve it?**" "**Leave it to me, Sonic. I'm rather bored and could use some action.**" Ozone interrupted. "**Here**" the alien said before tossing the 'bracelet' to the blue blur. "**If you focus your thoughts into it, you'll find Chip in no time.**" Ozone finished.

Before Ozone could dash for the lava reef, Knuckles stood in front of him as if to stop him from going somewhere. "**What's your problem, Knuckles?**" the alien snapped, Knuckles simply replied, "**Last time Sonic and I were there, we saw a creature that even **_**Super Sonic**_** couldn't beat**" Ozone tried to imagine what Knuckles was talking about, then asked for details on what the 'creature' was. Most of what Knuckles described reminded him of Perfect Dark Gaia, then Ozone asked how they overcame the 'perfect' beast. "**It wasn't easy, but Knuckles 'went inside' each chaos emerald that I used during my Super form. He did so when I was knocked unconscious after my humiliating defeat.**" Sonic started. Knuckles finished, "**Once I saw Sonic defeated, I suddenly remembered a power greater than the chaos emeralds' at that time. if I 'went inside' each emerald, I could tap into each of their hidden powers and make **_**them**_** super. So I thought '**_**If the emeralds are in their super form, what kind of power would they grant their user?'**_"

Sonic continued, "**The moment I came to, Knuckles told me what he did to the emeralds, and I figured that I had to use their newfound powers. When I saw myself after using the super emeralds, I didn't have the usual golden-yellow fur I always had, but my fur was glowing every color imaginable. I felt kinda silly at first, then remembered that there was a positive side to it. I was racing at speeds that even **_**I**_** couldn't imagine. When I punched Perfect Dark Gaia, the impact managed to leave a dent in that creature. I managed to damage the beast enough for Knuckles to seal Dark Gaia back into the Earth.**"

"**So, we promised to avoid going anywhere that leads into the center of the world so that we could avoid that beast. I almost forgot to mention this: Chip told me what to do to help me seal that ancient beast.**" Knuckles said, finishing the tale. "**That's quite a story, but you shouldn't worry with me around. If Dark Gaia somehow gets back, let me deal with him. Thanks for the information regarding Dark Gaia by the way.**" Ozone smirked. "**I haven't seen any **_**real**_** action since I first came here. Either way, we still need to get to the lava reefs and retrieve that 'ring' that Charmy was talking about.**"

Before Ozone thought about forcing his way through Knuckles, he ran back for the Chaotix Team and asked the young bee for more details about the ring he found. "**It was green by the looks of it, and it gave off a weird fog around it.**" Charmy said. Espio then added, "**I can get near that ring no problem, but the thing that made me retreat was a guardian that popped up out of the ground and rendered every skill I know useless.**" Vector concluded, "**Not even my strongest attacks left a dent on that beast.**"

"**Could you guys describe that 'beast'?**" Ozone asked. As the Chaotix Team described the guardian's appearance and battle skills, the alien hedgehog started to fear that their description _strongly_ resembles that of a certain ancient beast. Ozone thanked the Chaotix Team for their help in identifying their problem, then informed the group about how to go after the 'ring'.

Short chapter... i know. only thing to say is STAY TUNED.

(Sneak peak at chapter 23! Chaos appears and a battle begins... I hope to make it good)


	22. Shadow's Temper let loose

Disclaimer: still don't own anything but my OC.

"**Guys, here's the short version: the Chaotix Team will show us the way, but we need to deal with the danger. Don't worry, they will tell us where and when the traps will hit.**" Ozone began. "**I suggest bringing Knuckles and Shadow. Knuckles can help us navigate the lava reefs since he seemed to know the grounds better than I do.**" The alien continued.

Shadow wondered why he was selected to go, until Blaze figured it out: "**I get the feeling you asked Shadow to come along since you know how he is with his temper.**" Shadow retorted, "**How about I use the kitty as target practice for my new move?**" "**Don't even think about it!**" the pyrokinetic feline shot back. Ozone facepalmed and replied, "**Forget it, Blaze is coming instead of Shadow. If you can't control your temper, how are you supposed to concentrate of the enemy's strategies? Let me put it this way: if the enemy's strategy is oriented around a direct assault, then you'll be easy picking for the enemy.**"

"**Are you saying that I can't handle some freak in the reefs!?**" Shadow yelled. Ozone replied, "**I didn't say that, I simply said that brute force may result in your defeat. If I know you enough, I'd say that you, when pissed, tend to begin acting on impulse and power.**" "**You want to make something of it, Ozone?**" "**Of course not, I'm more focused on getting that 'ring' and finding out why it's so heavily guarded.**"

It took a while before things got ugly between the two hedgehogs and they broke out into a battle. Ozone charged up some chaos energy in his right hand and flew up in the air to begin battling. "**Shadow, I really hate to battle, but if I'm going to get anything done with you around, then I have to take any measures necessary to get some co-operation.**" The alien said. Shadow retorted, "**I do things my way, and you won't convince me to co-operate with ya.**" With those words, shadow began glowing a familiar shade of crimson red. "**Now, let's see how you handle **_**this**_**!**" Shadow charged towards Ozone at blinding speeds. Ozone barely got a chance to fire off the chaos energy he stored up in his hands. When Shadow was within ten feet of Ozone, the alien quickly withdrew the built-up energy into his body and glowed a soothing shade of blue, before something unexpected happened. Instead of being attacked, Shadow latched himself onto Ozone by getting a _tight_ grip on the alien. "**What the?**" Ozone muttered, before hearing the words he predicted "**Chaos... BLAST!**" at that moment, Shadow expanded the red aura around himself into a _huge_ orb of chaos energy. The attack was quick, but noticeable enough to be seen.

Once the attack was over, Shadow warped down to the spectators to be a snob about it. "**Not bad, but that's the kind of thing I was talking about regarding your temper.**" Was what Shadow heard. "**Where are you, Ozone!?**" he shouted. "**What are you saying, Shadow? Didn't you blow him up?**" Amy asked "**huh? You didn't hear him?**" Shadow stuttered in disbelief. "**Last thing I heard from him was telling you about your temper and loss of strategy skills.**" She replied. "**Look down, Shadow.**" the ebony anthro ignored the 'advise' and searched the sky for Ozone. Before long, the gang felt an earthquake. The ground then gave way around Shadow's feet. "**What's happening?**" Shadow asked. He heard Ozone's voice in the air again, "**I tried to warn ya, but you refused to listen. Another thing I said about your problem. Am I making my point yet?**" Shadow growled as he fell in the fissure below him.

It took about a minute for the ebony hedgehog to come out of the fissure. He was somewhat bruised and had some minor scratches on his chest area. "**Where are you, Ozone?**" he yelled. At that moment, Ozone's form appeared in front of him. The alien crouched down to face Shadow and said, "**Have you learned your lesson yet?**" That _really_ pissed off Shadow beyond belief. "**I will not be beaten by some freak!**" with those words, Shadow struggled to get onto his feet, and began charging green chaos energy into his hands. "**Chaos…**" he started. Ozone prepared himself for another chaos blast, but was taken back by Shadow's next move. "**… REGEN!**"

Shadow surrounded himself in the energy he stored up and began glowing a shade of green similar to an emerald. The cuts and bruises that once covered Shadow's body started to 'fix' themselves quickly. "**I see, I guess it's round two.**" Ozone muttered. "**Bring it!**" Shadow challenged. Ozone jumped back about fifty feet and began charging energy that he stored in his body at the start of round one. Shadow lunged at Ozone with murder in his eyes. Ozone's reaction was simple: he began dodging every one of Shadow's punches and kicks. "**You're rather easy to predict… at times.**" Ozone taunted as he dodged the onslaught. "**So what if I am? That makes it even sweeter for me when I beat ya.**" Shadow retorted. Ozone gathered enough energy in his hand and stored it in his body like in round 1 and began charging a third set. Shadow noticed the energy charge and rushed Ozone. The ebony hedgehog shoved Ozone aside to absorb whatever energy is left from the alien's area. As he absorbed the energy, he laughed with evil intent. "**Now I will defeat you using your **_**own**_** powers!**"

"**Well thought, Shadow**" Ozone said. "**That strategy **_**would**_** work, but you're absorbing the wrong kind of chaos energy for Chaos Blast or Chaos Spear.**" Eggman and Tails were wondering what Ozone until Shadow realized it: The Chaos Energy he absorbed quickly dissipated as he tried to convert the energy into Chaos Blast material. "**What's happening the chaos energy I absorbed?**" Shadow yelled. Ozone retorted, "**I admire your tenacious spirit to keep fighting and trying tactics that you don't fully understand, but here's the problem: you're using the chaos energy all wrong.**" "**What do you mean?**" "**Chaos energy can both hinder and help. It helps when used correctly, but when used incorrectly will hinder.**"

"**In other words, you weren't charging up for an attack?**" Shadow concluded. Ozone nodded his head and said, "**I wasn't charging up for an attack that time.**" Shadow looked at Ozone in bewilderment at the alien's unusual tactics. "**Shadow, your temper caused you to forget to consider what kind of Chaos Energy you're using.**" Ozone summed up. "**I see…hmph, I'll keep that in mind when battling that beast guarding the 'ring' that the Chaotix Team are talking about.**"

"**Alright, I think you learned your lesson, Shadow. I believe we got room for one more on the expedition.**" Ozone said. Shadow merely grunted in victory knowing that he's now getting a part of the action. "**Let's get going dudes!**" Ozone yelled as if to boost morale. With those words, Sonic, Knuckles, Blaze, Shadow, and Ozone raced off to the lava reefs. "**HOLD IT!**" Amy objected, "**Where Sonic goes, I will go too!**" "**I second that, but with Blaze!**" Silver then pitched in. Ozone sighed in annoyance, and said that they can also come along.

Seems like Shadow's lost it for a while, but was brought to his senses, thanks to Ozone. What secrets lie in the Lava Reefs that the Chaotix Team didn't mention? What is Mephiles up to? What could Black Doom have planned for Ozone and co? pray that Writer's Block doesn't hit me early in the story, and stay tuned for the next chapter.


	23. Chaos appears part 1

Disclaimer: nothing owned except my OC.

As the seven of them traveled through the reefs, the atmosphere suddenly turned colder. "**A little chilly, eh? Maybe too chilly in the Lava Reefs.**" Knuckles muttered. Sonic suddenly remembered where that feeling came from; "**Watch out, guys. Chaos is near!**" he yelled. The ground suddenly gave way and a creature made of water jumped out of the fissure. "_**Long time no see, Sonic. I've learned some new tricks over the years**_" it told Sonic with telekinesis.

"**Is that I challenge I'm hearing from a walking, flabby puddle?**" Sonic retorted. "**I take it you're Chaos. I'm Ozone, and you're going down.**" "_**Bring it, then**_" Before they could get into fighting stance, Chaos shot out a huge stream of water out of it's mouth and cooled the lava until it hardened. That left the battlefield shrouded in a blanket of fog. Chaos then superfroze himself so that he became an ice-block, literally! The result was simple: the once scorching lava reefs turned into a frozen cave that was near sub-zero temperatures. Once the arena changed into Chaos's liking, he changed back into his liquid form, and lunged for the gang.

The Chaos Emerald that Shadow possessed suddenly started glowing. "**Uh, guys. We got a problem**" Shadow warned. Silver then got a chill down his spine, and concluded, "**I guess that means Chaos has an emerald on it.**" Amy knew that she wasn't much of a fighter, so she offered to search the battlefield for the emerald. Ozone began the fight by charging chaos energy into his hand. Shadow began glowing the familiar shade of red. Sonic also gathered energy into his hand, but had a different use in mind. Silver grabbed whatever ice blocks he could using his psychokinetic powers. Blaze thought she would try something different: she would try to use Iblis's powers; She gathered some of the energy from Iblis sealed within her and created a small fireball in her hand. She threw it up into the air and the fireball expanded into a miniature sun. Once that was done, the pyrokinetic feline harnessed some energy from the 'sun' and formed it unto a green sphere of energy.

Chaos shot out one 'arm' and blast of icy water spewed out at a rapid pace. Fortunately for Chaos, the water quickly turned to ice. That, along with the environment, not only caused the group to be pelted with ice blocks, but also resulted them to be frozen in place. Since Amy was not in the attacking front, she didn't know what Chaos was up to, thus was unaffected by the battle. When she turned to see the battle, she gasped in horror at Sonic's predicament. "**I'm coming, Sonic!**". She made a beeline straight for the group with her hammer in tow. Ozone, still frozen, could only watch as Chaos started to set traps around the field. What Ozone didn't count on was Amy charging at the group with her hammer. What really surprised him was the fact that she was dragging the hammer while running as if to sharpen the sword on the ground while running. When Amy got close enough, she twirled around to build up extra momentum for the hammer, and with one swing she decimated the icy prison containing the attackers.

"**Thanks Amy, I didn't count on Chaos knowing that trick.**" Sonic admitted. "**Chaos…**" Ozone began. He then began glowing an icy shade of blue, and yelled "**…Drain!**" Ozone's aura dissipated and reformed around his hands. He lunged forward and began to throw a series of punches and kicks that were at speeds even Sonic couldn't keep track of. "**Hey, Ozone, physical attacks don't affect that freak!**" Ozone heard the blue blur and ignored that statement. Shadow growled at Ozone's plan, and used Chaos Control to slow down time and stop Ozone from continuing the onslaught. "**Didn't you hear Sonic? You can't beat Chaos with physical attacks**" the ebony anthro yelled. "**I know what I'm doing, I will explain once I'm done this… just wait, Shadow.**" the alien retorted.

Once Shadow gave up trying to tell Ozone to stop wasting his energy, he walked back to the group and told them to 'just wait' like Ozone ordered. After about 2 minutes of non-stop punching and kicking, Ozone finally jumped back to the gang. "**I know you're thinking I'm an idiot by jumping in and physically attacking, but you'll thank me **_**real**_** soon.**" He said, as if admitting a big mistake. "**Just attack now and I'll explain what I did after the first wave of attacks**" Ozone concluded.

The gang didn't even bother to ask questions, and returned their attention to charging up energy for their attacks. "**Hold on, dudes.**" Ozone interrupted. "**Chaos... SUPPORT!**" with those words, Ozone glowed a bright shade of yellow and it the aura struck the team like lightning. "**You guys can now use your chaos attacks without the need to charge, but hurry! I can't keep this up forever ya know.**" The gang nodded their heads and focused the energy that Ozone's providing into their respective attacks. Shadow formed his signature Chaos Spears around himself, while Sonic focused the energy similar to Naruto's Rasengan. Silver used that energy to form little thunder clouds around the area, whereas Blaze used her share of energy to prepare large puddles of lava. Knuckles tried a different tactic: he used his share of energy to ignite his hands. Amy informed Ozone that she will not be battling, but will look for the chaos emeralds nearby. Ozone nodded his head in agreement and cut off the supply to her. When she was given the 'OK' to get going, she ran off to scout the battlefield for nearby emeralds.

Chaos saw Ozone's tactic and 'evaporated' out of sight. Sonic was taken back by the watery foe's sudden change of plans, until it reformed behind Ozone. Shadow felt Chaos's presence behind Ozone and shot the spears in Ozone's direction. Fortunately, none of them came close to the alien, but that sort of agitated him. "**You trying to betray me, Shadow?**" he yelled in frustration. "**Idiot! Chaos is behind you!**" with those words, Ozone quickly swung his arm around to strike Chaos on the little 'brain' and that did the trick in hurting Chaos physically.

Chaos, once realizing the unexpected change of situation, formed a claw and stretched it out towards one corner of the battlefield. A moment later, a chaos emerald started floating out of one of the cracks in the icy barrier and headed straight for the divine creature. Once it touched Chaos, he 'absorbed' the emerald into his liquid body and glowed a bright yellow color. When the light show was over, Sonic stopped preparing his attack and was overcome by fear when he saw Chaos's new form: Chaos1.

Seems like the battle between the group and the 'God of Destruction', Chaos, has just begun. Where did Chaos get the emerald from? Will Amy find any chaos emeralds on the field? Stay tuned and find out in the next exciting chapter of this story!


End file.
